“…One can calculate from published rate constants that, at 80 ЊC, the relative rates for azidobenzene, 5 the azidopyrazole 1 6 and 2-azidothiophene 7 are 1, 3600 and 69 000, respectively. (There is unfortunately no common solvent for these rate measurements, which were made in decalin, p-xylene and p-chlorotoluene respectively, but data already published 8,9 indicate that solvent change would cause only about a two-fold alteration in the figures). Whereas simple azidobenzenes are believed to thermolyse to a singlet nitrene in the rate-determining step, 1,2 the very high reaction rates observed for the azidoheterocycles have suggested 3,4,7,10 that the ring-opening shown in Scheme 1 is concerted with nitrogen loss.…”