1,3-Bis(2',2'-dicarboxyethyl)azulene (2), azulyl-1,3-bis(propanoic acid) (3), 1,3-bis(2'-carbethoxy-3'-oxo-buty1)azulene (4), 1,3-bis(3'-oxobutyl)azulene (S), diethyl azulene-l,&dipropanoate (6), and l,&bis(3'-hy-droxypropy1)azulene (7) have been synthesized via nucleophilic displacement reactions on azulyl-l,3-bis(meth~ltrimethylammonium) diiodide ( 1). Vilsmeier acylation reactions and reduction of the carbonyl groups in the 1-acylazulene products to methylenes by either the hydride reduction-alkylideneazulenium salt-hydride reduction method or, in one step, by diborane have been used to prepare I-ethylazulene, ethyl 5-(1-azulyl)-5oxopentanoate (sa), ethyl 5-( 1-azuly1)pentanoate (loa), 1-(1'-oxo-4'-carbethoxybutyl)-3-(5'-chloropentyl)azulene (1 la), azulene-1,3-bis(hexanenitrile) (14a), ethyl 4-( l-azulyl)-4-oxobutanoate (8b), 1-(4'-chlorobuty1)-3-(1'-oxo-3'-carbethoxypropyl)azulene (llb), azulene-l,3-bis(pentanenitrile) (14b), 1,3-bis(l'-oxo-3'-carbo-methoxypropy1)azulene (16), N,N-diethyl-10-( 1-azuly1)decanamide (21), pentylazulene (22), 1,3-dipentylazulene (23), 1,3-dipropionylazulene (24), and 1,3-dipropylazulene (25). The principal maxima in the visible absorption spectra for the 1-alkyl-and 1,3-dialkylazulenes are compared. The diborane reduction of the acylazulenes is discussed. A high-dilution Thorpe-Ziegler ring closure of 14a gave 1,3-(5'-cyano-6'-oxoundeca-met8hylene)azulene (26), the first example of a l13-bridged azulene. Attempts to form l,&bridged products from 14b, 21, and 6 were unsuccessful. (1965), and preceding papers.for certain cases, the reaction with aliphatic diazo compounds.' The former had provided the first step in pathways to azulene-1-ethanoic acid and azulene-lpropanoic acidP4 and the latter afforded a direct route to ethyl azulene-1-ethanoate. Since the results of an attempt to form an azulene-1,3-dialkanoic acid ester by the acid-catalyzed decomposition of an w-diazo ester in the presence of azulene were not promising, the displacement reactions of azulyl-l,3-bis(methyltrimethylammonium) diiodide (1) with the anions of active methylene compounds were tried (Scheme I). From 1 and diethyl sodiomalonate was obtained, after hydroly-