Effect of Ortho Substituents on the Direction of 1,2-Migrations in the Rearrangement of 2-<i>exo</i>-Arylfenchyl Alcohols
作者:Scott M. Starling、Simone C. Vonwiller、Joost N. H. Reek
DOI:10.1021/jo972025v
日期:1998.4.1
A series of 8-exo-arylfenchyl alcohols (11a-k) was submitted to acid hydrolysis in EtOH/10 M HCl (2:1-1:1, v/v) or with trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfOH) (1 equiv) in CHCl3 under varying conditions. In all cases, initial formation of the cyclofenchene 12 took place, and after prolonged treatment with acid the reaction proceeded along one of two pathways depending on the nature of the aryl substituent. When the aryl substituent was o-NH2 11b or o-OH 11e, Wagner-Meerwein rearrangement took place to give a carbocationic intermediate 9 that was trapped by the N or O heteroatom to give (2R,4aR,9aR)-9-aza-2,4a-(10,10-dimethylmethano)-1,2,3,4,4a,9a-hexahydro-9a-methyl-9H-fluorene (3b) and (3R,4aR,9bR)-3,9b-(10,10-dimethylmethano)-1,2,3,4,4a,9b-hexahydro-4a-methyldibenzofuran (3c), respectively. In the case of 3c bearing an oxygen heteroatom, equilibration to give the thermodynamic product (1R,4S,4aR,9bR)-1,2,3,4,4a,9b-hexahydr-1,4-methano-1,4a,9b-trimethyldibenzofuran (4a), arising from Nametkin rearrangement, took place via the intermediate 8-fenchyl cation. In contrast, when the aryl substituent was o-OCH3 11f, direct conversion of the cyclofenchene to the Nametkin product 4a occurred with no detectable prior formation of the Wagner-Meerwein product. In the case of o-tolylfenchyl alcohol 11k, cyclofenchene formation was facile, but subsequent conversion to either the Wagner-Meerwein or Nametkin products was highly disfavored. The results indicate that ortho substitution disfavors Wagner-Meerwein rearrangement through adverse steric and electronic effects. However, when the ortho substituent is NH2 or OH it is proposed that anchimeric assistance provides an intermediate 15a that is stereoelectronically predisposed to Wagner-Meewein rearrangement.