Reduction of Different Electron-Poor N-Heteroarylhydrazines in Strong Basic Conditions

The first application of the Wolff–Kishner reduction methodology to electron-poor heteroaromatic compounds is reported. Hydrazino-containing heterocycles with hydrazone-type tautomery have been reduced under basic conditions. This novel chemistry was successfully applied to mono-dehalogenate a number of electron-poor heterocycles in a regioselective manner. According to the experimental results, this reductive process is a base-catalyzed reaction that takes only place in the presence of air, probably through an oxygen-assisted mechanism. As consequence of the specific features of this kind of hydrazone/enehydrazine tautomers, the overall outcome of the process is the synthesis of a Shapiro-type reduction product by simply using a milder version of the Huang–Minlon methodology.