Lewis Acid Promoted Dearomatization of Naphthols.

Two-step dearomative functionalization of naphthols promoted by Lewis acids and copper(I) catalysis was developed. Initially, Lewis acid complexation inverted the electronic properties of the ring and established an equilibrium with the dearomatized counterpart. Subsequent trapping of the dearomatized intermediate with organometallics as well as organophosphines was demonstrated and provided the corresponding dearomatized products.

Zinc(II)-mediated nitrile-amidoxime coupling gives new insights into H⁺-assisted generation of 1,2,4-oxadiazoles.

The cyanamides Me2NCN (1a), OC4H8NCN (1b), and PhC(═O)N(H)CN (1c) and the conventional nitriles PhCN (1d) and EtCN (1e) react with 1 equiv of each of the amidoximes R'C(═NOH)NH2 (R' = Me (2a), Ph (2b)) in the presence of 1 equiv of ZnCl2 producing the complexes [ZnCl2{HN═C(R)ON═C(R')NH2}] (R/R' = NMe2/Me (3a), NMe2/Ph (3b), NC4H8O/Me (3c), NC4H8O/Ph (3d), N(H)C(═O)Ph/Me (3e), N(H)C(═O)Ph/Ph (3f), Ph/Me (3g), Ph/Ph (3h), Et/Ph (3j)) with the chelate ligands originating from the previously unreported zinc(II)-mediated nitrile-amidoxime coupling. Addition of 1 equiv of p-TolSO3H to any of one 3a-h, 3j results in the ligand liberation and formation of the iminium salts [H2N═C(R)ON═C(R')NH2](p-TolSO3) ([4a-j](p-TolSO3)), which then at 20-65 °C spontaneously transform to 1,2,4-oxadiazoles (5a-j). As a side reaction, cyanamide derived species [4a-f](p-TolSO3) undergo Tiemann rearrangement to produce the substituted ureas R'NHC(═O)NH2 (R' = Me (6a), Ph (6b)) and RC(═O)NH2 (R = NMe2 (6c), NC4H8O (6d), N(H)C(═O)Ph (6e)), whereas phenyl and ethyl cyanide derivatives besides their transformation to the oxadiazoles undergo hydrolysis to the parent amidoxime R'C(═NOH)NH2 (R' = Me (2a), Ph (2b)) and the carboxamides RC(═O)NH2 (R = Ph (6f), Et (6g)). All new obtained compounds were characterized by HRESI-MS, IR, ATR-FTIR, (1)H NMR, CP-MAS TOSS (13)C NMR, elemental analyses (C, H, N), and single crystal X-ray diffraction for seven species (3a-e, [4b](p-TolSO3), and [4d](p-TolSO3)). Two previously unknown heterocycles 5c and 5e were isolated and characterized by elemental analyses (C, H, N), HRESI-MS, IR, (1)H and (13)C{(1)H} NMR. The observed conversion of [4a-j](p-TolSO3) to the 1,2,4-oxadiazoles uncovers the mechanism of the previously reported H(+)-assisted generation of these heterocycles (Augustine; et al. J. Org. Chem. 2009, 74, 5640).