Mendeleev Commun., 2011, 21, 196–197
in the usual way (Scheme 4, pathway a), while in the latter case,
This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic
Research (project no. 10-03-00623).
not OH group but more nucleophilic NH2 group adds to the
C=NH2+ bond to furnish 4-hydroxy-6-nitroindole 5 (Scheme 4,
pathway b).
References
To prove this mechanism, it seemed reasonable to perform
cyclization of O-(3,5-diaminophenyl)-substituted ketoximes 6
(Scheme 5). However, to access diamino compounds 6 by reduc-
tion of nitro group in precursors 3 was difficult. In fact, the pre-
viously used5 method of selective reduction of dinitrophenyl
ketoximes 1 with a considerable excess of hydrazine hydrate
catalyzed by FeCl3/activated carbon proved inefficient in case of
compounds 3 and resulted in resinification only. The procedure
involving hydrazine hydrate on Raney nickel under standard
conditions (MeOH, reflux for 1 h) resulted in oxime cleavage to
give 3,5-diaminophenol. Luckily, performing the reaction at room
temperature and prolonging exposure led to diaminooximes 6 in
acceptable yields. Cyclization of the latter in a mixture of ethanol
and concentrated HCl afforded 6-amino-4-hydroxyindoles 7 as the
only products, which unambiguously confirms our above mech-
anistic assumptions.
1 A. Mooradian and P. Dupont, Tetrahedron Lett., 1967, 407.
2 A. Mooradian and P. Dupont, J. Heterocycl. Chem., 1967, 4, 441.
3 P. R. Guzzo, R. N. Buckle and M. Chou, J. Org. Chem., 2003, 68, 770.
4 A.Alemagna, C. Baldoli, P. Bruttero, E. Licandro and S. Maiorana, Synthesis,
1987, 192.
5 S. S. Vorob’ev, M. D. Dutov, I. A. Vatsadze, E. P. Petrosyan, V. V. Kachala,
Yu. A. Strelenko and S. A. Shevelev, Izv. Akad. Nauk, Ser. Khim., 2007,
984 (Russ. Chem. Bull., Int. Ed., 2007, 56, 1020).
Received: 24th January 2011; Com. 11/3671
†
1H NMR spectra (in DMSO-d6) were recorded on a Bruker AM-300
NH2
NH2
spectrometer.
1
i
6a: yield 73%, mp 91–92°C. H NMR, d: 2.35 (s, 3H), 4.77 (s, 4H),
5.53 (s, 1H), 5.77 (s, 2H), 7.46 (s, 2H), 7.76 (s, 1H).
N
Ar
N
Ar
6b: yield 52%, mp 151–152°C. 1H NMR, d: 2.33 (s, 3H), 4.77 (s, 4H),
5.53 (s, 1H), 5.75 (s, 2H), 7.64–7.73 (m, 4H).
O2N
O
H2N
O
Me
Me
6c: yield 94%, mp 132–133°C. 1H NMR, d: 2.35 (s, 3H), 4.81 (s, 4H),
5.55 (s, 1H), 5.78 (s, 2H), 7.71 (d, 2H, J 5.8 Hz), 8.66 (d, 2H, J 5.8 Hz).
6d: yield 87%, oil. 1H NMR, d: 2.30 (s, 3H), 4.75 (s, 4H), 5.51 (s, 1H),
5.69 (s, 2H), 7.40–7.49 (m, 3H), 7.54–7.57 (m, 1H).
6a–e
(52–94%)
3a–e
OH
6e: yield 79%, oil. 1H NMR, d: 2.29 (s, 3H), 4.75 (s, 4H), 5.51 (s, 1H),
5.68 (s, 2H), 7.48–7.54 (m, 2H), 7.74 (m, 1H).
a Ar = Ph
ii
b Ar = 4-BrC6H4
c Ar = 4-pyridyl
d Ar = 2-ClC6H4
e Ar = 2,4-Cl2C6H3
Ar
7a: yield 57%, mp > 300°C. 1H NMR, d: 5.08 (s, 2H), 5.85 (s, 1H), 6.13
(s, 1H), 6.72 (s, 1H), 7.15–7.20 (m, 1H), 7.34–7.39 (m, 2H), 7.68–7.71
(m, 2H), 9.10 (s, 1H), 10.76 (s, 1H).
NH
H2N
7a–e
(54–79%)
1
7b: yield 61%, mp > 300°C. H NMR, d: 4.74 (s, 2H), 5.81 (s, 1H),
6.06 (s, 1H), 6.73 (s, 1H), 7.53 (d, 2H, J 8.3 Hz), 7.64 (d, 2H, J 8.4 Hz),
9.09 (s, 1H), 10.75 (s, 1H).
7c: yield 64%, mp > 300°C. 1H NMR, d: 4.93 (s, 2H), 5.84 (s, 1H), 6.07
(s, 1H), 7.00 (s, 1H), 7.61 (d, 2H, J 4.6 Hz), 8.46 (d, 2H, J 4.4 Hz), 9.27 (s,
1H), 10.93 (s, 1H).
Scheme 5 Reagents and conditions: i, N2H4·H2O (2 equiv.), Raney Ni,
activated catalyst, 50% slurry in water, MeOH, room temperature, 1.5 h;
ii, EtOH–HCl (1:1), reflux, 0.5–3 h.
7d: yield 54%, mp 163–164°C. 1H NMR, d: 4.98 (s, 2H), 5.85 (s, 1H),
6.11 (s, 1H), 6.88 (s, 1H), 7.21–7.26 (m, 1H), 7.36–7.41 (m, 1H), 7.51 (d,
1H, J 7.8 Hz), 7.66 (d, 1H, J 7.6 Hz), 9.13 (s, 1H), 10.66 (s, 1H).
7e: yield 79%, mp 171–172°C. 1H NMR, d: 4.91 (s, 2H), 5.84 (s, 1H),
6.09 (s, 1H), 6.93 (s, 1H), 7.47 (d, 1H, J 8.1 Hz), 7.65–7.69 (m, 1H), 9.17
(s, 1H), 10.71 (s, 1H).
The structures of the compounds synthesized were confirmed
by the 1H NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry (molecular ions
were recorded in all cases) and microanalysis.†
In conclusion, we have pioneered in indole preparation by
intramolecular cyclization of O-arylated ketoximes.
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