Boc-protected 1-(3-oxocycloalkyl)ureas via a one-step Curtius rearrangement: mechanism and scope

1-(3-Oxocyclobutyl) carboxylic acid (4a) was converted into N-Boc-protected 1-(3-oxocyclobutyl) urea (5a), a key intermediate for the preparation of agonists of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5, in one-step when treated with diphenyl phosphoryl azide and triethylamine in tert-butanol. The mechanism of the reaction involves a nucleophilic addition of the in situ generated tert-butyl carbamate to the isocyanate intermediate. This reaction is applicable to other 1-(3-oxocycloalkyl) carboxylic acids but not to linear γ-keto carboxylic acids.