3,3′-Azothiophene

Methyl 3-nitrothiophene-2-carboxylate was reduced with bismuth(III) chloride/potassium borohydride to give an unstable hydroxylamine which was oxidised without isolation using iron(III) chloride to give methyl 3-nitrosothiophene-2-carboxylate. Condensation of this with methyl 3-aminothiophene-2-carboxylate furnished the azodiester. This was more conveniently obtained by manganese dioxide oxidation of the aminoester. Hydrolysis of the azodiester to give the diacid followed by decarboxylation gave 3,3′-azothiophene which could be oxidised to 3,3′- azoxythiophene with hydrogen peroxide. The azodiester was oxidised to the corresponding azoxydiester with urea-hydrogen peroxide/trifluoroacetic anhydride and reduced to the related hydrazothiophenediester with diimide.