Ruthenium-Porphyrin-Catalyzed Diastereoselective Intramolecular Alkyl Carbene Insertion into C-H Bonds of Alkyl Diazomethanes Generated In Situ from N-Tosylhydrazones

With a ruthenium-porphyrin catalyst, alkyl diazomethanes generated in situ from N-tosylhydrazones efficiently underwent intramolecular C(sp(3))-H insertion of an alkyl carbene to give substituted tetrahydrofurans and pyrrolidines in up to 99% yield and with up to 99:1 cis selectivity. The reaction displays good tolerance of many functionalities, and the procedure is simple without the need for slow addition with a syringe pump. From a synthetic point of view, the C-H insertion of N-tosylhydrazones can be viewed as reductive coupling between a C=O bond and a C-H bond to form a new C-C bond, since N-tosylhydrazones can be readily prepared from carbonyl compounds. This reaction was successfully applied in a concise synthesis of (+/-)-pseudoheliotridane.