3-Pyridylnitrene, 2- and 4-pyrimidinylcarbenes, 3-quinolylnitrenes, and 4-quinazolinylcarbenes. Interconversion, ring expansion to diazacycloheptatetraenes, ring opening to nitrile ylides, and ring contraction to cyanopyrroles and cyanoindoles.

Precursors of 3-pyridylnitrene and 2- and 4-pyrimidinylcarbenes all afford mixtures of 2- and 3-cyanopyrroles on flash vacuum thermolysis, but 3-cyanopyrroles are the first-formed products. 3-Quinolylnitrenes and 4-quinazolinylcarbenes similarly afford 3-cyanoindoles. 2-Pyrimidinylcarbenes rearrange to 3-pyridylnitrenes, but 4-pyrimidinylcarbenes and 4-quinazolinylcarbenes do not necessarily rearrange to the corresponding 3-pyridylnitrenes or 3-quinolylnitrenes. The ring contraction reactions are interpreted in terms of ring opening of either the nitrenes or the diazacycloheptatetraenes to nitrile ylides.