A thermal [1,3] sigmatropic rearrangement: thermolysis of 2,2-bis(ethylthio)-3,3-dimethyl-4-pentenal
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2,2-Bis(ethylthio)-3,3-dimethyl-4-pentenal was found to quantitatively isomerize to 2,2-bis(ethylthio)-5-methyl-4-hexenal over a wide temperature range (130–170 °C). This rearrangement can formally be regarded as a [1,3] sigmatropic shift. The reaction, which could be conveniently monitored by 1Hmr spectroscopy, was found to obey first order kinetics. The substantial positive entropy of activation (+ 61.5 J deg−1 mol−1) for the reaction and the negligible solvent effect (decane vs. DMF) are both consistent with a proposed diradical pathway.