Trispiro[2.1.2.1.2.1]dodecane-4,8,12-trione and other oligomers of carbonylcyclopropane. The organozinc route

Beyond the Dimer and Trimer: Tetraspiro[2.1.2(5).1.2(9).1.2(13).1(3)] hexadecane-1,3,5,7-tetraone--the Cyclic Tetramer of Carbonylcyclopropane

Tetraspiro[2.1.2(5).1.2(9).1.2(13).1(3)]hexadecane-1,3,5,7-tetraone 4, a unique tetraketone containing a cyclooctane core and four spiroannelated cyclopropane moieties, represents the previously unknown cyclotetramer of carbonylcyclopropane. For this purpose oxidation of the parent polyspirocyclic hydrocarbon was examined under various oxidative conditions, and the reactivity of oxidants towards methylene groups of the eight-membered cycle, activated by adjacent spirocyclopropane rings, was evaluated and contrasted. Whereas the treatment of tetraspirohexadecane with ozone resulted in monooxidation, its reaction with methyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane afforded the product of four-fold oxidation, triketoalcohol 10. Subsequent oxidation of the latter with Dess-Martin periodinane gave the target tetraketone 4.

Electronic and Molecular Structures of Heteroradialenes: A Combined Synthetic, Computational, Spectroscopic, and Structural Study Identifying IR Spectroscopy as a Simple but Powerful Experimental Probe

The vicinity of a hydrogen bond donor (O-H) and a hydrogen bond acceptor (C=O or C=N- R) in salicylaldehydes and ortho-Schiff bases results in significant structural variations compared to the monosubstituted derivatives that are reflected in the electronic structure and thus in the spectroscopic properties. This interplay between intramolecular hydrogen bonding and multicenter p- electron delocalization is the origin of the concept of resonance-assisted hydrogen bonding (RAHB). Herein, the complexity is extended from one hydrogen bond donor-acceptor pair in salicylaldehyde and ortho-Schiff bases to three hydrogen bond donor-acceptor pairs in 2,4,6-tricarbonyl- and 2,4,6- triimine-substituted phloroglucinols (1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene), respectively. To evaluate the changes in the molecular and electronic structures, we have performed a comprehensive computational, spectroscopic, and structural study starting from monosubstituted benzene derivatives as references over ortho-disubstituted derivates to the sixfold-substituted derivatives. Whereas in salicylaldehydes, ortho- Schiff bases, and 2,4,6-tricarbonyl-phloroglucinols the phenolic O-protonated tautomers represent the energy minima, the N-protonated tautomers represent the energy minima in 2,4,6-triiminephloroglucinols. The analysis provides a keto-enamine resonance structure with six exocyclic double bonds to be dominant for these species reminiscent of [6]radialenes, which were termed heteroradialenes. These heteroradialenes are non-aromatic alicycles. However, the predominance of this resonance structure does not represent a sudden change going from the 2,4,6-tricarbonyl- to the 2,4,6-triimine-phloroglucinols, but a gradual increase of analogous resonance structure contributions is observed even in salicylaldehyde and ortho-Schiff bases demonstrating some hetero-orthoquinodimethane character. These changes are, besides in the molecular structures, well reflected in the IR spectra, which can therefore be used as a simple tool to probe the electronic structures in these systems. Interruption of the delocalized p system supporting the intramolecular hydrogen bond, i. e. going from 2,4,6-triimine- to 2,4,6-triamine-substituted phloroglucinols, reestablishes an O-protonated aromatic phloroglucinol system.

Mild decarboxylative activation of malonic acid derivatives by 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole

Malonic acid derivatives undergo unusually mild decarboxylation when treated with N,N'-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) at room temperature to generate the carbonyl imidazole moiety in high yield, which can be reacted further with a variety of nucleophiles in an efficient one-pot process.