Hot-Tube Reactions of Dehydroabietic Acid with Ketene-Producing Reagents. Pyrolysis of the Acid Chloride and Symmetrical and Mixed Anhydride Derivatives of Dehydroabietic Acid
Dehydroabietic acid (1a) was reacted with diketene, acetic acid, acetic anhydride, isopropenyl acetate, acetyl chloride, and acetone on Vycor rod at 450 °C in a hot tube. Dehydroabietic anhydride (1b) and acetyl dehydroabietate (1c) were pyrolyzed at 450 °C and dehydroabietyl chloride (1d) was pyrolyzed over a temperature range of 290–500 °C. The major olefin products resulting from decarboxylation of the various derivatives were 19-norabieta-4,8,11,13-tetraene (2), 19-norabieta-4(18),8,11,13-tetraene (3), 19-norabieta-3,8,11,13-tetraene (4), and cis-1,10a-dimethyl-7-isopropyl-1,2,3,9,10,10a-hexahydrophenanthrene (5). High conversions to these compounds were obtained. In the presence of the ketene-producing reagents the olefins were oxidized to yield substantial amounts of retene (6), compounds 2 and 5 being the most readily dehydrogenated. The acid isomerization of 2, 3, 4, and 5 was studied using p-toluenesulfonic acid in toluene at 110 °C.