Reactions of Vinyl Azides

Abstract

Abstract This review is designed to demonstrate the versatility of vinyl azides in organic reactions. The reactive azide function is susceptible to thermolysis, photolysis, cycloadditions, and attack by nucleophiles and electrophiles. The neighboring double bond accentuates the reactivity of the azide function and provides additional intramolecular pathways for reaction. Last but not least, the presence of an appreciable electron density at the β‐vinyl carbon makes this class of compounds comparable with enamines in their reactions with electrophiles and 1,3‐dipoles.