Sydnone methides: intermediates between mesoionic compounds and mesoionic N-heterocyclic olefins

Sydnone methides represent an almost unknown class of mesoionic compounds which possess exocyclic carbon substituents instead of oxygen (sydnones) or nitrogen (sydnone imines) in the 5-position of a 1,2,3-oxadiazolium ring. Unsubstituted 4-positions give rise to the generation of anionic N-heterocyclic carbenes by deprotonation. Preparations of new sydnone methides are described here. They can be represented by mesomeric structures with either exocyclic carbanionic groups like −C(CN)₂⁻, −C(CN)(COOMe)⁻, −C(CN)(CONH₂)⁻, and −C(CN)(SO₂Me)⁻, or with the corresponding exocyclic C=C double bonds as a common feature with mesoionic N-heterocyclic olefins. An X-ray single structure analysis revealed a length of 140.7(3) pm of the exocyclic bond in the solid state. From the coalescence temperature (55 °C) determined by a series of ¹³C NMR experiments (150 MHz) at various temperatures, an energy of rotation of 18.5 Kcal/mol was calculated for this bond. The ¹³C NMR signals of the anionic N-heterocyclic carbenes, from which the 2-mesityl-substituted anionic NHC proved to be stable up to 10 °C, are highly shifted upfield (δ_carbene=157.9 ppm−160.5 ppm). The carbenes can be reacted in situ with elemental selenium and chlorophosphanes to yield sydnone methide selenoethers after methylation and 4-phosphanylsydnone methides in good to excellent yields, respectively.