An investigation of the cycloaddition behavior of dichloroketene with various types of olefins seemed in order to determine if dichloroketene behaved similarly to dialkylketenes. It was anticipated that a study of this type would indicate the reactivity of dichloroketene to various types of olefinic compounds and thus establish if the ease of cycloaddition with dichloroketene parallels the nucleophilicity of the olefin as it does in dialkylketenes.

It was proposed to study the cycloaddition of ketenes and carbodiimides in some detail. The first objective was to investigate the general applicability of the reaction as a tool for the synthetic organic chemist in the preparation of a new class of substituted β-lactams; i.e., imino-β-lactams. It was proposed for this part of the research problem to look for the intermediate, either directly or indirectly, by trapping experiments. It was further proposed to study substituent effects in the ketene and carbodiimide and also Investigate the effect of solvent polarity on the reaction rate. From these data, it was hoped that the mechanism of the cycloaddition reaction could be elucidated.

The principle objective of this study is to conduct a definitive investigation into the cycloaddition of allenes and ketenes, with particular emphasis on halogenated ketenes.

Trimethylsilylbromoketene was synthesized by the tri-ethylamine dehydrohalogenation of trimthylsilylbromacetyl bromide or chloride. This ketene was found not to undergo cycloaddition reactions with activated olefins, such as cyclopentadiene, ethyl vinyl ether and dihydropyan.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1944. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-76).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1951. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 62).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1956. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

The (2+2) cycloaddition of ketenes and trimethylsilyl enol ethers was found to proceed in good yield to give trimethylsiloxycyclobutanones of unique and interesting regiochemistry and stereochemistry. As electron-rich activated olefins, the trimethylsilyl enol ethers readily reacted with the electron-deficient ketenes.

One objective of this study was to explore the intramolecular [2+2] cycloadditions of phenoxyketenes to carbonyl groups with isoflavones and benzofurans as target compounds. The other objective was to investigate the eyeloaddition reactions of rarely studied aminoketenes. The conversion of 2-(carboxyalkoxy)benzils to the corresponding phenoxyketenes leads to an intramolecular [2+2] cycloaddition to ultimately yield isoflavones and/or 3-aroylbenzofurans. The product distributions are dependent upon the substitution pattern in the original benzil acids. The initial cycloaddition products, β-lactones, are isolated in some instances while some β-lactones spontaneously underwent decarboxylation and could not be isolated. The ketene intermediate was demonstrated in the intramolecular reaction of benzil acids or ketoacids with sodium acetate and acetic anhydride. It is suggested that sodium acetate and acetic anhydride could serve as a source for the generation of ketenes directly from certain organic acids. The treatment of ketoacids with acetic anhydride and sodium acetate provides a simpler procedure to prepare benzofurans than going through the acid chloride with subsequent triethylamine dehydrochlorination to give the ketenes. N-Ary1-N-alkylaminoketenes were prepared for the first time from the corresponding glycine derivatives by using p-toluenesulfonyl chloride and triethylamine. These aminoketenes underwent in situ cycloadditions with cyclopentadiene, cycloheptene and cyclooctenes to yield only the endo -bicyclobutanones. The cycloheptene and cyclooctene cycloaddition products underwent dehydrogenation under the reaction conditions to yield bicycloenamines. A mechanism is proposed for this dehydrogenation involving a radical cation of the arylalkylamine. (N-Phenyl-N-methyl) aminomethylketene was also prepared and found to undergo an intramolecular Friedel-Crafts type acylation to yield an indole derivative when prepared by the acetic anhydride, sodium acetate method. The in situ cycloaddition of N-aryl-N-alkyl aminoketenes with various imines was found to form predominately cis-3-amino-2-azetidinones. A mechanism involving a dipolar intermediate is provided whereby the structure of the intermediate is determined by both electronic and steric effects. The stereochemistry of the resulting β-lactams is dependent upon the structure of the dipolar intermediate.

The objective of this study was to explore intramolecular ketene cycloadditions with the anticipated results of developing new synthetic methodology for the synthesis of polycyclic compounds difficult to obtain by other procedures. (o-Alkenylphenoxy)ketenes were initially selected for this study because these ketenes provided a favorable proximity for the intramolecular [2+2] cycloaddition reactions. The difunctional precursors, (o-alkenylphenoxy)- acetic acids, were readily prepared from o-alkenylphenols and ∝-halocarboxylic acids and were converted to the corresponding acid chlorides by reaction with oxalyl chloride. The acid chlorides were dehydrochlorinated to the corresponding (o-alkenylphenoxy)ketenes by treatment with triethylamine. The ketenes undergo a facile intramolecular [2+2] cycloaddition to give polycyclic eye 1obutanones. The (o-vinylphenoxy)ketenes are clearly more reactive than the (o-allylphenoxy)ketenes and provide much better yields of the cycloaddition products because of electronic effects in the transition state in the cycloaddition process. The intramolecular [2+2] cycloadditions of keteniminium salts were included in this study as a more electrophilic alternative to ketenes that will react with less nucleophilic carbon-carbon double bonds. However, the use of keteniminium salts instead of ketenes in Intramolecular cycloadditions does have some limitations. The synthesis of benzofurans via the intramolecular [2+2] cycloadditions of (o-acylphenoxy)ketenes was accomplished. The initially formed ß-lactone cycloaddition products spontaneously underwent decarboxylation to the benzofurans. The aromaticity of the benzofurans is apparently a very strong driving force for the cycloaddition. During the course of this study, two new synthetic methods were discovered which in many instances represent a significant Improvement over existing methods. The Wittig Reactions of ketoacids without protecting the carboxyl groups provide a reliable source of the precursor unsaturated acids needed for intramolecular ketene-olefin cycloadditions. Also, the one-pot preparation of intramolecular ketene cycloaddition products from the carboxylic acid via the tosylate represents a new synthetic method. This procedure eliminates the acid halide preparation, isolation and purification step, thereby significantly simplifying the synthesis.