Enoldiazo esters and amides have proven to be versatile reagents for cycloaddition reactions that allow highly efficient construction of various carbocycles and heterocycles. Their versatility is exemplified by (1) [2+n]-cycloadditions (n = 3, 4) by the enol silyl ether units of enoldiazo compounds with retention of the diazo functionality to furnish α-cyclic-α-diazo compounds that are themselves subject to further transformations of the diazo functional group; (2) [3+n]-cycloadditions (n = 1–5) by metallo-enolcarbenes formed by catalytic dinitrogen extrusion from enoldiazo compounds; (3) [2+n]-cycloadditions (n = 3, 4) by donor–acceptor cyclopropenes generated in situ from enoldiazo compounds that produce cyclopropane-fused ring systems. The role of dirhodium(II) and the emergence of copper(I) catalysts are described, as are the different outcomes of reactions initiated with these catalysts. This comprehensive review on cycloaddition reactions of enoldiazo compounds, with emphasis on methodology development, mechanistic insight, and catalyst-controlled chemodivergence, aims to provide inspiration for future discoveries in the field and to catalyze the application of enoldiazo reagents by the wider synthetic community.

A copper-catalyzed B-H bond insertion reaction with amine- and phosphine-borane adducts was realized with high yield and enantioselectivity under mild reaction conditions. The B-H bond insertion reaction provides a new C-B bond-forming methodology and an efficient approach to chiral organoboron compounds.

Catalyst-controlled divergent addition reactions of enoldiazoacetamides with nitrones have been developed. By using copper(I) tetrafluoroborate/bisoxazoline complex as the catalyst, a [3+3]-cycloaddition reaction was achieved with excellent yield and enantioselectivity under exceptionally mild conditions, which represents the first highly enantioselective base-metal-catalyzed vinylcarbene transformation. When the catalyst was changed to copper(I) triflate, Mannich addition products were formed in high yields with near exclusivity under otherwise identical conditions.

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Over the past decade, vinyldiazo compounds have provided mild, efficient, and highly selective methods for the construction of heterocycles and carbocycles. Dinitrogen extrusion with suitable catalysts provides the carbon framework for [3+n] cycloaddition with a large variety of dipolarophiles. This minireview, covering the latest achievements in the field of metal‐catalyzed cyclization reactions with vinyldiazo reagents, focuses on reagent‐ or catalyst‐dependent chemodivergence: different vinyldiazo reagents or metal catalysts direct reactions to different cyclization pathways that give different reaction outcomes. Accordingly, metal‐catalyzed cyclization reactions of vinyldiazo compounds with nitrosoarenes, nitrones, indoles, and other diazo compounds are chosen to showcase the controllable versatility of the combination of vinyldiazo reagents and metal catalysts.