Stereochemistry of Hexahydrocarbazoles; the Temperature-dependent Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectra of N-Acetyl Derivatives
The configuration of certain substituted hexahydrocarbazoles 2, of significance in connection with earlier work, has been established. A study of the temperature dependence of the n.m.r. spectra of N-acetyl derivatives, initiated with the intention of distinguishing between cis- and trans-fused isomers, has led to the conclusion that the distinction could not be made on this basis since all of the temperature-dependent phenomena, even in cases where the cis-fusion had been established by other means, could be associated with rotational isomerism of the N-acetyl group and no observable effects in the temperature range studied could be related to conformational mobility of the ring system. Nevertheless, the results obtained provide information of value and interest regarding the stereochemistry of hexahydrocarbazoles.