Hydrolysis of Monothio-β-diketones. II. Hydrolysis of three fluorinated Monothio-β-diketones
The rapid decomposition of the fluorinated monothio-β-diketones RC(SH)=CHCOCF3, 4-(3?-bromophenyl)-1,1,1-trifluoro-4-mercaptobut-3-en-2- one (R = m-BrC6H4), 4-(4?-bromophenyl)-1,1,1-trifluoro-4-mercaptobut-3- en-2-one (R = p-BrC6H4) and 1,1,1-trifluoro-4-mercaptopent-3-en-2-one(R = Me), in acid solution has been shown to occur by hydrolytic cleavage to yield the ketone RCOCH3, hydrogen sulphide and probably trifluoroacetic acid. The pseudo first-order rate constants for these compounds are (8.0�0.3)x 10-3, min-1, (6.0 � 0.6) x 10-3 min-1 and 0.12�0.01 min-1, respectively. The greater vulnerability of 1,1,1- trifluoro-4-mercaptopent-3-en-2-one, compared to the other two monothio-β-diketones, towards hydrolytic cleavage is related to the nature of the R substituent in that conjugation involving the terminal aromatic ring stabilizes the monothio-β-diketone.