Reductive Condensation of a Nitro Group with Carboxylic Acids Promoted by Phosphorus(III) Compounds: A Short Route to 5H-Dibenzo[b,e][1,4]diazepin-11(10H)-ones

Tributyl- or triphenylphosphine promotes a one-pot, three-step method for the synthesis of differently substituted dibenzodiazepinones from N-aryl-2-nitroanilines. Pyridine analogues and the corresponding thiazepinones can also be formed using this method. The process involves deoxygenation of the nitro group, then formation of an iminophosphorane intermediate and its intramolecular condensation with a carboxyl group placed in the N-aryl group. The role of the carboxyl group in the formation of the iminophosphorane and the mode of cyclization are discussed.

Crystal structures of three 6-aryl-2-(4-chlorobenzyl)-5-[(1H-indol-3-yl)methyl]imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazoles

Three title compounds, namely, 2-(4-chlorobenzyl)-5-[(1H-indol-3-yl)methyl]-6-phenylimidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole, C26H19ClN4S, (I), 2-(4-chlorobenzyl)-6-(4-fluorophenyl)-5-[(1H-indol-3-yl)methyl]imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole, C26H18ClFN4S, (II), and 6-(4-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorobenzyl)-5-[(1H-indol-3-yl)methyl]imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole, C26H18BrClN4S, (III), have been prepared using a reductive condensation of indole with the corresponding 6-aryl-2-(4-chlorobenzyl)imidazo[2,1-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole-5-carbaldehydes (aryl = phenyl, 4-fluorophenyl or 4-bromophenyl), and their crystal structures have been determined. The asymmetric unit of compound (I) consists of two independent molecules and one of the molecules exhibits disorder of the 4-chlorobenzyl substituent with occupancies 0.6289 (17) and 0.3711 (17). Each type of molecule forms a C(8) chain motif built from N—H...N hydrogen bonds, which for the fully ordered molecule is reinforced by C—H...π interactions. In compound (II), the chlorobenzyl unit is again disordered, with occupancies 0.822 (6) and 0.178 (6), and the molecules form C(8) chains similar to those in (I), reinforced by C—H...π interactions involving only the major disorder component. The chlorobenzyl unit in compound (III) is also disordered with occupancies of 0.839 (5) and 0.161 (5). The molecules are linked by a combination of one N—H...N hydrogen bond and four C—H...π interactions, forming a three-dimensional framework.