Aromatic Compounds from Pyrylium Salts
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Aromatic Compounds from Pyrylium Salts K. DlMROTH AND K. H. WOLF Chemisettes Institut der Universitat Marburg/Lahn Introduction The readily obtainable substituted pyrylium salts lend themselves to the preparation of numerous, often difficultly accessible, aromatic com pounds of both the heterocyclic and isocyclic series. The first known example of these reactions is the formation of pyridine and pyridinium derivatives described by Baeyer. Another reaction of this kind is the formation of thiopyrylium salts reported by Wizinger. Especially numer ous are the possibilities for the preparation of isocyclic aromatic com pounds, whereby known phenols and alkylated amines together with new nitrocompounds, ketones, carboxylic acids, nitriles, phenol carboxylic acids, aminonitriles, or hydrocarbons of the benzene, naphthalene, and phenanthrene series can be prepared in generally good yield. The use of pyrylium salts as the starting materials for the preparation of azulenes is also possible. In addition to a discussion of these reactions a survey of the methods available for the preparation of pyrylium salts will be given. Conversion of Pyrylium Salts into Heterocyclic Compounds Possessing Aromatic Character DERIVATIVES OF PYRIDINE As found by Baeyer [1], the original worker in this field, pyrylium salts can readily be converted into pyridine derivatives by warming with an aqueous ammonium carbonate solution. Following the preparation by Baeyer and Piccard [2] of collidine (2a) and 2,6-dimethyl-4-phenyl- pyridine (2b) from 2,4,6-trimethylpyrylium perchlorate (la) and 2,6- dimethyl-4-phenylpyrylium perchlorate (lb) respectively, this synthesis was extended to include other 2,4,6-tri-alkyl- and aryl-substituted pyryl ium salts by Dilthey [3], Gastaldi [4], and others [5], These reactions, however, served more to elucidate the constitution of the pyrylium salts, than in the preparation of specific pyridine derivatives. Nevertheless, a large number of difficultly accessible pyridine derivatives, e.g. 2,4,6- triphenylpyridine (2c) [3a], 2,3,4,6-tetraphenylpyridine (2d) [3c],penta- phenylpyridine [3c], or 1,4-bis-[3,5-diphenylpyridino(4)]benzene (2g) 357 358 K. DIMROTH AND K. H. WOLF [22], can be obtained readily in this manner. The disubstituted 2,6-di- phenylpyrylium perchlorate (lh) is also converted smoothly into 2,6- diphenylpyridine (2h) [6]; nucleophilic addition at C-2 (C-6) is pre ferred to that at C-4. A summary of the preparative methods for pyridine derivatives is to be found in [7]. (a) R2 = R4 = Re = CH3; R3 = H (b) R, = R6 = CH3; R4 = C6H5; Ra = H (c) R2 = R4 = Re = C6H5; R3 = H (d) R, = R4 = R6 = Rs = C6H5 (e) R2 = R6 = CH3; R4 = OCH3; R3 = H (£) R2 = R6 = CH3; R4 = NHCH3; R3 = H; NCHj'ClC^ instead of N in (2) C,H, (h) R2 = R6 = ; R4 = R3 = H The conversion of the pyrylium salts is almost always facile and quantitative; alcoholic ammonia is sometimes better suited than aqueous ammonium carbonate. As our own experiments [8] have shown, the re action proceeds particularly favorably when the pyrylium salt is sus pended in absolute ter t-butano\, and dry ammonia passed through; warming effects solution of the salt, and the ammonium salt of the in organic acid constituting the anion of the pyrylium salt (ammonium perchlorate or ammonium fluoborate) separates on cooling. The pyridine derivative which remains in solution often can be precipitated practically quantitatively by the addition of a little water. The conversion of pyrylium salts into pyridine derivatives fails when the heterocyclic oxygen atom of the pyrylium salt originates from a phenolic component. Hence neither chromylium nor xanthylium salts can be converted into quinoline or acridine derivatives. 2,4-Diphenyltetra- hydrobenzopyrylium perchlorate (3), however, gives a quantitative yield of 2,4-diphenyltetrahydroquinoline (4), by treatment with am monia in ter£-butanol [8]. The conversion of 1,3-disubstituted iso- AROMATIC COMPOUNDS FROM PYRYLIUM SALTS 359 chromylium salts (5b and c) into 1,3-disubstituted isoquinoline deriva tives (6b and c) can be accomplished similarly [8,9]. 6 5 H2 T 2 NH, i! © 1 + NH4C104 + H20 C«H5 C6H5 2 © cio4 (?) (4) Unsubstituted isochromylium chloroferrate (5a), readily accessible from homophthalaldehyde, yields, like the aldehyde itself, isoquinoline with ammonia [10], respectively, N-substituted isoquinolinium com pounds with primary aliphatic or aromatic amines [11]. + Nfl^X + H2Q (5) (6) (a) R, = R3 = H (b) Rl = R3 = ch3 (c) R, = R3 = CeH, Similarly, careful treatment of 2,6-dimethyl-4-methoxypyrylium perchlorate (le) with aqueous ammonia yields 2,6-dimethyl-4-methoxy- pyridine (2e) [1]. According to Anker and Cook [12] the 4-methoxy, and to some extent also the 4-methylmercapto [13] group in the pyrylium salt, are sufficiently reactive to allow their replacement by other nucleo philic groups, such as alkoxy, alkylmercapto, alkylamino, or dialkyl- amino. The most diverse pyridine derivatives can accordingly be prepared by subsequent treatment with ammonia. If the methoxypyrylium salt (le) is allowed to react with an excess of methylamine in methanol, both the heterocyclic oxygen atom and the methoxy group are replaced and 2,6-dimethyl-4-methylamino-N-methylpyridinium perchlorate (2f) is ob tained on precipitation with perchloric acid. DERIVATIVES OF PYRIDINIUM COMPOUNDS If 2,4,6-trisubstituted pyrylium salts (7) are allowed to react with primary aliphatic or aromatic amines instead of ammonia, the N-alkyl- ated or N-arylated pyridinium salts (8a) are obtained. In this reaction too, the first examples were discovered by Baeyer and Piccard [1,2]. 360 K. DIMROTH AND K. H. WOLF The method is exceptionally well suited to the synthesis of numerous pyridinium compounds, especially as it usually proceeds in excellent yield [14]- The only requirement is that the amine should not be too weakly basic. The simple aliphatic amines, such as methylamine, ethyl- amine, etc., can also be replaced by aromatic amines, such as aniline and its derivatives. Phenylhydrazine, «-methylphenylhydrazine [15], or semi carbazide [16] essentially react in similar fashion (to give 8b, c, d). Reaction with hydroxylamine yields pyridine oxides (8e), but only when the size of the a,a'-substituents is not excessive. Otherwise [e.g. with CH(CH;})2 and C(iH5 in the a,a'-position] reduction occurs and the pyri dine derivatives are obtained. (7) Rg, 1^, 1^ = aliphatic and aromatic groups (a) Rt = alkyl or aryl, hydroxyaryl etc. (b) R, = NHCQH (c) R1 = CH3NC6H5 (d) Rx = NHCONH2 (e) Ri = OH There exists thus far no other route for the preparation of the N—NH-arylpyridinium compounds (9) [17]. This class of compounds has been discovered as a result of the work of Schneider and co-workers [15], and is distinguished by a series of interesting reactions. With alkali they give strongly colored anhydro bases, which are to be regarded as + N—N betaines (10) [18], i.e. the heterocyclic pyridine nitrogen carries the positive, and the anilido nitrogen the negative charge. R = aryl or alkyl AROMATIC COMPOUNDS FROM PYRYLIUM SALTS 361 Of especial interest are the N-hydroxyphenylpyridinium salts which are readily formed from pyrylium salts by reaction with aminophenols, and which can be converted into pyridinium-N-phenol betaines by the action of strong bases [19]. The compounds may also be considered phenologs of pyridine-N-oxide. By suitable substitution of the pyridine as well as the aminophenol it is possible to obtain stable betaines which have unusually large solvatochromic and thermochromic effects. They are especially useful for the measurement of the polarity of solvents [20], The Z [21] or ET values which are found in this way determine the polarity of the solvent much better than the dielectric constant. The double conversion of a dipyrylocyanin dye (p. 371) into a di- pyridiniumcyanine dyestuff is also possible. In a similar way the bis- pyrylium salt (p. 382) from terephthalaldehyde and acetophenone [22] with p-aminophenol and its derivatives give the bis-pyridinium-N- phenolbetaines [23]. DERIVATIVES OF THIOPYRYLIUM COMPOUNDS While the unsubstituted pyrylium salt (11) is a rather unstable compound [24], the corresponding thiopyrylium salt (12) [27] is very stable and may be prepared readily by several different routes [25]. Its reactions, however, in contrast to those of benzothiopyrylium salts (13) [26] have hardly been investigated. (11) (12) (13) When treated with sodium sulfide in acetone, followed by precipita tion with acid, 2,4,6-trisubstituted pyrylium salts (14) usually undergo replacement of the heterocyclic oxygen atom by sulfur to give the thio pyrylium salts (16) [27] within a few minutes. The presence of inter mediates manifests itself by a blue coloration; Wizinger and Ulrich [28], Ar Ar Ar + 2HX - NaX 0N9© -NaX, -l^O Ar O Ar Ar O Ar S Ar X® X© (14) (15) (16) Ar = C6H5 or CH=CH— 362 K. DIMROTH AND K. H. WOLF the discoverers of this reaction, believe them to be the sodium salts of ketothioenols (15). The reaction published by Suld and Price [27] between phenyl lithium and 2,4,6-triphenylthiopyrylium perchlorate (17) in ethereal solution at a low temperature and in the absence of light, gave a stable amorphous product with a purple color which was described as 1,2,4,6-tetraphenyl- thiobenzene (18). On passing oxygen through an ethereal solution of the compound an oxypyrylium salt (19) was formed as well as diphenyl disulfide. This salt (19) was also prepared by an independent synthesis from benzalacetophenone and w-acetoxyacetophenone. The compound (18) was converted, in 25% yield, into the colorless 2,4,4,6-tetraphenyl- thiopyran (20) on being allowed to stand for a day. Aliphatic Grignard compounds give deep-colored intermediates with (17) which are quickly converted into 2- or 4-thiopyran derivatives. An interesting rearrangement of compound (19) to 3,5,6-triphenyl-2-pyrone has recently been found [28a]. DERIVATIVES OF PYRIDONE AND THIOPYRIDONE FROM PYRONE DERIVATIVES 4-Pyrones (21a) and, to an even greater extent, 2,6-alkyl-substituted 4-thiopyrones (21b) such as 2,6-dimethyl-4-thiopyrone, do not behave as true ketones or thioketones, but can be regarded as internal pyrylium salts (22a, b), i.e.