A step- and atom-economical protocol
allowing the synthesis of
1,4-diazepanes and also tetrahydro- and decahydro-1,5-benzodiazepines
is described. The method proceeds from very simple starting materials
such as 1,2-diamines and alkyl 3-oxohex-5-enoates and can be performed
under solvent-free conditions in many instances. The key event of
this process was the generation in situ of an aza-Nazarov
reagent and its subsequent intramolecular aza-Michael cyclization.
An intermolecular version of the reaction was also established and
applied to the synthesis of the first example of the pyrrolo[1,2-a][1,5]diazonine framework.