Spontaneous Aromatization of Diels-Alder Adducts in the Reaction of Alkatrienyl Phosphonates with Alkyl Esters of Acetylencarboxylic Acids

Abstract

Abstract The subject of this study was the Diels-Alder reaction involving dialkyl (3-methylpenta-1,2,4-trienyl)phosphonates1a-d, dialkyl(5-methyl-hexa-1,3,4-trienyl)phosphonates 2a-b, and dienophiles (esters of acetylencarboxylic acids) 3a-c, at 65–90°C, in chloroform or with no solvent. The reaction between 1a-d and 3a-b led to the benzyl phosphonates 4a-h, while with 3c it proceeds to a mixture of 5a-d (90%) and 6a-d (10%), which are dialkyl esters of the 3-carboalkoxy(or 2-carboalkoxy)-6-methyl-benzyl phosphonic acid. The intermediate Diels-Alder adducts (A) are not even spectroscopically observable, i.e. in the course of the reaction a 1,5-sigmatropic isomerization occurs, accompanied by aromatization of (A). The isomerization is spontaneous: at ambient temperature 1a-d and 3a-b react slowly and form aromatic compounds: