The Meisenheimer rearrangement in heterocyclic synthesis. II. Synthesis and X-ray crystal structure of a tetrahydro-1H-2,3-benzoxazocine and preparation of a hexahydro-2,3-benzoxazonine

Abstract

The heterocyclic derivatives, 8,9-dimethoxy-3-methyl-1-phenyl-3,4,5,6- tetrahydro-1H-2,3-benzoxazocine(3a) and 9,10-dimethoxy-3-methyl-1- phenyl-1,3,4,5,6,7-hexahydro-2,3-benzoxazonine (3b),examples of two new ring systems, have been prepared by Meisenheimer rearrangement of the corresponding 2-benzazepine and 2-benzazocine N-oxide derivatives (2a) and (2b). The Bischler-Napieralski-type cyclization reaction was used in the preparation of the tertiary amine precursors of these N-oxides reaction conditions for the cyclization were critical and phosphorus oxychloride in refluxing butanenitrile was found to give the best yields of the seven- or eight-membered cyclic imine intermediates. Reductive cleavage of the benzoxazocine derivative (3a) with zinc in acetic acid followed by N-methylation gave the expected product, [2-{3- (dimethylamino)propyl}-4,5-di-methoxyphenyl]phenylmethanol (12). The crystal and molecular structure of (3a) has been determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis.