Abstract: Evidence for the intermediacy of the dehydrocyclopentadienyl anion (2) is seen in trapping experiments involving the Diels-Alder dienes tetraphenylcyclopentadienone and 1, 4-diphenyl-sym-tetrazine. The thermal or photolytic decompositions of the diazocyclopentadiene-2-carboxylate anion (1) under a variety of conditions yield carbon dioxide and nitrogen, presumably to give 2. Products from the pyrolysis of 1 at ca. 200 in ...
