Yawn. Reactions are stirring for the next two days… all hot plates are in use, what to do? READ THE LITERATURE OF COURSE!

Formation of benzadiazepineI’m the worlds biggest fan of green chemistry. Not only because I *heart* the planet but because the reactions are so wonderfully simple. So, I bring you Ramesh Chandra’s Green Chem. (2006, 8, 519-521). Chandra’s found a new way to make benzadiazepines (not to be confused with the much more fun benzodiazepines). The reaction is elegantly simple and very high yeilding. Yields range anywhere for fantastic (84% for naphthaline derivative) to un-friggin-believable (99% for acetone). The mechanism is purported to go through this imine-enamine tautomerization stabilized by the silver. Attack is then done on the imine carbon for the coup de grâce. If 7 member ring, spirofused, in a 95% yield you’re wondering if this works on cyclic systems then you should wonder no more… because it does. In amazing yields to boot.

I dunno if I would consider silver nitrate “green” really. I’m not aware that it causes flipperbabies, though I have no direct experience with feeding it to anything. Apparently fish don’t much care for it; indeed upon their writhing death I’m sure they rather hate it. So, this is an odd journal to stick this in.