“…Chem. Soc., 83, 3125 (1961) Heptafulvene is also formed, together with benzene, acetylene, and cyclooctatetraene, in the thermal or photochemical decomposition of cycloheptatrienyldiazomethane.120 A reasonable mechanism for this reaction is decomposition of the diazoalkane to give the carbene 150 which then rearranges to 147.120 H 150 Heptafulvene is a very labile compound which easily polymerizes, even at -80°, in concentrated solutions.117 Recently, however, the above-mentioned pyrolysis of the mixture of acetoxymethylcycloheptatrienes (Scheme XVII), with collection of the pyrolyzates at -70°followed by purifications at low temperature, allowed the preparation of deep-red crystalline 147 which is stable at -70°b ut polymerizes in a few minutes at 20°.,,9b At moderately low temperatures it was possible to obtain nmr and ir spectra11913 (section IV.B.3). Less labile, or even stable, heptafulvenes were obtained by either replacing the methylene hydrogens with strongly electron-attracting groups or Inserting the methylene carbon into a conjugated chain or cycle as shown by subsequent examples.…”