Reactions of fused dihydro-1,2,4-thiadiazoles with isoselenocyanates giving 6aλ⁴-thia-1,3,4,6-tetraazapentalene derivatives and 5,10-dihydro-1,2,4-thiaselenazolo[4,5-b][2,4]benzodiazepines^†

3-Methyl-6,7-dihydro-5H-1,2,4-thiadiazolo[4,5-a]pyrimidine (1) reacted with isoselenocyanates with elimination of acetonitrile and concomitant addition of two molecules of the isoselenocyanate to give 2,3-di-substituted-6,7-dihydro-5H-2aλ⁴-thia-2,3,4a,7a-tetraazacyclopent[cd]indene-1(2H),4(3H)-diselones (6a)–(6j). 3-Methyl-5,10-dihydrobenzo[e]-1,2,4-thiadiazolo[4,5-a][1,3]diazepine (3) likewise reacted with alkyl isoselenocyanates to give the 2,3-dialkyl-5-10-dihydro-2aλ⁴-thia-2,3,4a,10a-tetraazapentaleno[3,3a,4-gh]benzocycloheptene-1,4-diselones (9a)–(9h), but reaction of (3) with aryl isoselenocyanates took place with elimination of acetonitrile and incorporation of one molecule of the aryl isoselenocyanate in the product to give 3-arylimino-5,10-dihydro-1,2,4-thiaselenazolo[4,5-b][2,4]benzodiazepines (10a)–(10h). Structure (10) is a new heterocyclic system. The pyrimidine (1) and the diazepine (3) reacted with aryl isoselenocyanates at room temperature in solvents of low polarity to give zwitterion 1:1 addition compounds (7) and (12), respectively. NMR studies reveal that the thiaselenazoles (10) react in solution with aryl isoselenocyanates to give diaryl diselones (11) in a reversible process involving a Dimroth rearrangement. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.