Synthesis of heterocyclic skeletons by the reaction of N1-(2-cyanophenyl)-benzimidoyl chloride with thioamides

Article abstract of DOI:10.3390/70100096

The reaction of N-(2-cyanophenyl)benzimidoyl chloride with reagents containing a thioamide moiety, i.e. thioacetamide, benzylthiourea, symmetrical dialkyl- and diarylthioureas gave different cyclic products: 3,1-benzothiazine, 1,3,5-benzotriazocine and quinazoline. The reaction pathways of prepared compounds are discussed.

Full text of DOI:10.3390/70100096

Molecules 2002, 7, 96-103
molecules
ISSN 1420-3049
http://www.mdpi.org
Synthesis of Heterocyclic Skeletons by the Reaction of
N1-(2-Cyanophenyl)-benzimidoyl Chloride with Thioamides
Walid M. Fathalla, and Pavel Pazdera*
Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; Tel.: +420 5 41129305, Fax: +420 5
41211214, E-mail: pazdera@chemi.muni.cz
Received: 27 June 2001; in revised form: 24 January 2002/ Accepted: 24 January 2002 / Published:
30 January 2002
Abstract: The reaction of N-(2-cyanophenyl)benzimidoyl chloride with reagents
containing a thioamide moiety, i.e. thioacetamide, benzylthiourea, symmetrical
dialkyl- and diarylthioureas gave different cyclic products: 3,1-benzothiazine, 1,3,5-
benzotriazocine and quinazoline. The reaction pathways of prepared compounds are
discussed.
Keywords: N-(2-cyanophenyl)benzimidoyl chloride, thioamide, 3,1-benzo-thiazine,
1,3,5-benzotriazocine, quinazoline, imidoyl chlorides, N-imidoyl thioureas.
Introduction
The thioamide moiety including the thioureido group is a versatile building block in the synthesis
of heterocycles. Several research workers have used this group in the synthesis
of different heterocyclic compounds such as triazoles, thiadiazoles, quinazolines, benzothiazines,
benzodiazocines, benzotriazocines, benzothiadiazocines, etc. The well-known biological activity of
benzodiazocines [3] directed us to prepare similar benzannelated eight member heterocycles from the
easily available N-(2-cyanophenyl)benzimidoyl chloride (1) to examine their potential action on the
central nervous system.

Molecules 2002, 7
97
Results and Discussion
The precursor N-(2-cyanophenyl)benzimidoyl chloride (1) was used to synthesize 3,3-di-R-1-(2-
phenyl-3,4-dihydroquinazolin-4-yliden)thioureas (3) and 3-R-1-(2-phenylquinazolin-4-yl)-thioureas
(4) [1,2]. Those were formed by the spontaneous intramolecular cycloaddition reaction of the 3-alkyl-
1-[(2-cyanophenylimino)phenylmethyl]thioureas 2 (R’= H) via regioselective N1 attack at the cyano
group. The blocking of this nitrogen by an alkyl group to form the open chain 1,3-dialkyl-1-[(2-
cyanophenylimino)phenylmethyl]thioureas 2 might produce the benzothiadiazocines 5 or
benzotriazocines 6 (Scheme 1).
Scheme 1. Possible products of cyclization reactions of intermediary
thermodynamically formed thioureas 2.
R
N
R
S
N
H
R
N
N
N
H
S
H
R'= H
N
N
N
3
4
S
C
N
N
C
N
C
H
R
Cl
N
N
N
R´
1
2
HN
HN
R
N
N
S
S
NR
N
R´
R´
N
N
6
5

Molecules 2002, 7
98
The reaction of 1 with reagents containing multi-nucleophilic active sites, e.g. thioacetamide,
benzylthiourea, symmetrical dialkyl- and diarylthioureas were principally expected to give
the thioureas 2 as a first step by the favored nitrogen attack at the imidoyl carbon followed
by the subsequent attack of the residual nucleophilic substituents to afford either the benzotriazocine 6
or the benzothiadiazocine 5. We found now that the reaction of imidoyl chloride 1 with the above
mentioned nucleophiles gave different cyclic products, i.e. 3,1-benzothiazine 8, 1,3,5-benzotriazocines
7, 11, and quinazolines 9, 10, by different reaction pathways (Scheme 2.).
Scheme 2. The studied reactions of N-(2-cyanophenyl)benzimidoyl chloride (1).
HN
H
N
N
N
S
S
N
N
N
N
7
6
a
NH
N
N
C
C
S
f
S
c
R
N
Cl
N
d
N
1
8
10
e
b
g
R= Ph, 4-ClPh, 4-CH Ph
3
H
N
S
H
N
N
S
NH
N
N
9
11
Reagents: (a) 1,3-diallylthiourea; (b) 1,3-dialkylthiourea (cyclohexyl, isopropyl, tert-butyl); (c) 1,3-
diarylthiourea (phenyl, p-chlorophenyl, p-tolyl); (d) aniline; (e) benzylthiourea; (f) thio-
acetamide; (g) no additional reagent(s); Conditions for all reactions: CHCl3, 50°C, 8h.

Molecules 2002, 7
99
The reaction of N-(2-cyanophenyl)benzimidoyl chloride (1) with 1,3-diallylthiourea gave evidently
1,3-diallyl-1-[(2-cyanophenylimino)phenylmethyl]thioureas 2 as the intermediates of a regioselective
thermodynamically controlled reaction of the NH group at the carbon atom
of the imidoyl chloride. This reaction showed good agreement with results published
in the literature [4], describing the nucleophilic vinyl substitution of ethyl (E)- and (Z)-3-aryl-
3-chloro-2-cyano-propenoates with symmetrical and asymmetrical substituted thioureas which
afforded, after spontaneous cyclization, 5-cyano-1,3-dialkyl-2-thiouracil derivatives. In a similar way
thioamides react with acylating agents to afford N-acyl derivatives as reported in [5,6]
The in situ formed thioureas 2 contain two nucleophilic active sites (nitrogen and the sulfur atoms)
capable of attacking the cyano group. In the next step the thiourea derivative 2 spontaneously cyclizes
to give the benzotriazocines 6 via nitrogen attack, which agrees with our results concerning the
intramolecular addition reaction of thioureido derivatives containing functionalized carboxy group
under neutral and basic conditions take part on the nitrogen atom [1,2]. The resultant benzotriazocine 6
was not our final product but rather it underwent Dimroth rearrangement to finally give the triazocine
derivative 7. This is formed due to the reaction conditions, which involve heating at reflux for a long
period, however our attempts to isolate the benzotriazocine derivative 6 were not successful.
The following evidence helped elucidate the proposed structure 7: several pieces of evidence
1
allowed differentiation between the two-benzotriazocine structures 6 and 7. First the H-NMR
spectrum of 7 shows a triplet peak at δ = 8.91 ppm corresponding to NHCH2CH.
On the other hand peaks corresponding to NHCH2CH and NCH2CH appear as a multiplet
at 4.12-4.09 ppm and a doublet at 5.01 ppm, respectively. The 13C-NMR confirms this conclusion and
shows two peaks at chemical shifts of 55.03, and 48.85 ppm corresponding to NCH2CH and
NHCH2Ph, respectively. The mass spectrum of 7 gave the molecular ion at m/z (Ir/%): 360 (52 %), and
the base peak at 319 (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Fragmentations of 7.
319
346
N
305
N
H
N
H
N
H
N
or
N
N
S
S
S
319
N
N
N
N
N
The reaction of 1 with 1,3-dialkylsubstituted thioureas (cyclohexyl, isopropyl and
tert-butyl, i. e. secondary or tertiary alkyl groups) afforded the quinazoline derivatives 9,
which indicate that the reaction follows a different pathway. The reaction is either carried out under

Molecules 2002, 7
100
neutral conditions for a long time period (48 h) or under basic conditions for 6 h. We can assume
that the reaction proceeds by a kinetically controlled addition-elimination reaction by the sulfur atom
to form the isothiourea intermediate. The S-nucleophilic attack is preferred to minimize
the steric effects compared with the alternative N-attack. The isothiourea subsequently undergoes
departure of the dialkylcarbodiimide and benzothiazine derivative 8. The quinazoline 9 is finally
formed by the Dimroth rearrangement of the benzothiazine 8 (induced by the extended heating or the
action of a basic medium).
The extension of the reaction to involve the symmetrical diarylthiourea derivatives instead
of the dialkyl derivatives in the former reaction (1,3-diphenyl-, 1,3-di-p-tolyl- and 1,3-di-p-
chlorophenylthioureas) in CHCl3 under various reaction conditions (at 60 °C for 6 h, at room
temperature for 6 days or in the presence of triethylamine for 2 h) gave the quinazoline derivatives 10.
The reaction pathway could be either the decomposition of diaryl thiourea
to aniline and the respective aryl isothiocyanate [7]. The reaction of 1 with anilines to give 10
confirmed both the structure of the quinazoline derivative and this possible reaction pathway.
An alternative reaction pathway is the formation of the open chain thiourea derivative 2
as in diallylthiourea examples, which might decompose to give the aryl isothiocyanate derivative and
amidine intermediate that spontaneously cyclizes to give the quinazoline 10.
The reaction of imidoyl chloride 1 with benzylthiourea containing a free amino group is partially
similar to that of 1,3-dibenzylthiourea derivative. The reaction proceeded by a regioselective
thermodynamically
controlled
reaction
involving
the
nitrogen
atom
attack
to give the open chain intermediate 2 (R= H, R’=CH2Ph), which undergoes intra molecular cyclization
to give the benzotriazocine 11. The structure of 11 was confirmed by the presence
1
of C=S peak at 177.01 ppm as shown in the 13C-NMR spectrum. The H-NMR spectrum shows
13
a singlet peak at 4.24 ppm corresponding to NCH2 group. The measured C- and 1H-NMR spectra of
isolated compounds were correlated with those obtained by simulation and this comparison showed
very good agreement with the proposed structures and with the data represented by Kaválek [8,9].
The reaction of 1 with thioacetamide provided the benzothiazine 8. The reaction proceeds
by the sulfur atom attack at the imidoyl group to form the ethanimidoyl-
N-(2-cyanophenyl)benzenecarbimidothioate via kinetically controlled reaction. This compound allows
the elimination of acetonitrile, and finally gives the benzothiazine 8. Compound 8 undergoes Dimroth
rearrangement by heating in CHCl3 or in basic medium to afford 9.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the grants of the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic (Grant
No. CEZ: J07/98: 143100011) and the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (Grant No.
203/01/13331). We would like to thank analytical department of Pliva-Lachema Co., Brno, Czech
Republic for elemental analysis.

Molecules 2002, 7
101
Experimental
General
Melting points of all the compounds were measured on a BOETIUS RAPIDO PHMK 79/2106
(Wägetechnik) instrument. TLC was carried out on Silufol UV 254 plates (Kavalier, Votice).
Detection was accomplished with a FLUOTEST UNIVERSAL (Quarzlampen, Hanau) and iodine
vapors. Eluent used was a 20: 80 mixture of acetone-benzene. Purity of compounds 7-11 was proven
by their elemental analysis on an Erba 1102 instrument. FTIR spectra were taken on a GENESIS
(Unicam) spectrometer using potassium bromide pellets. NMR spectra were measured on a BRUKER
AVANCE DRX-500 spectrometer. 1H-, 13C-NMR spectra were measured in CDCl3 and (CD3)2SO and
1
tetramethylsilane was used as an internal standard. The measured 13C- and H-NMR spectra were
correlated with those obtained by simulation (Advanced Chemistry Development, Inc., Toronto,
Canada). Mass spectrometry was determined (electron impact, 70 eV) on FISONS TRIO 1000 and GC
8000 series instruments.
General procedure for reactions of N-(2-cyanophenyl)benzimidoyl chloride (1)
A mixture of N-(2-cyanophenyl)benzamide [10] (0.5 g, 2.25 mmol), and phosphorous
pentachloride (0.5 g, 2.4 mmol) in dry toluene were refluxed for 8 h. The solvent was removed under
reduced pressure to give a brownish colored oil of N-(2-cyanophenyl)benzimidoyl chloride (1) [1,2]
which was not further purified. To the solution of crude oil in dry chloroform, appropriate equimolar
amounts of the thioamide derivatives solution in dry chloroform were added. The reaction mixture was
refluxed under inert atmosphere for 8h to give the precipitated solid, which was filtered, and
crystallized from the appropriate solvent. The reaction were carried out under varied reaction
conditions, either in the presence of triethylamine and reflux for 4 h, reflux in chloroform over night or
by stirring of reaction mixture at room temperature for 4 days.
3-Allyl-6-(allylamino)-2-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-1,3,5-benzotriazocin-4-thione (7): 0.18g (38%); M.p.
o
153-154 C; For C21H20N4S (360.48) calculated: 69.97% C, 5.59% H, 15.54% N, 8.89% S; found:
-1
~
69.78% C, 5.34% H, 15.48% N, 8.76% S; FTIR, ν /cm : 3107 (NH), 2903 (CH), 1620 (C=N);
1H-NMR (DMSO) δ/ ppm: 8.91 (1H, t, NHCH2, J= 7.2 Hz), 8.54– 7.58 (9H, m, ArH), 6.14-6.01 (1H,
m, NCH2CH), 5.79-5.66 (1H, m, NHCH2CH), 5.23 (1H, d, CH=CH2, J = 9.52 Hz), 5.14 (2H, d,
CH=CH2, J= 8.4 Hz), 5.01 (2H, d, NCH2CH, J= 3.9 Hz), 4.93 (1H, d, CH=CH2, J= 8.4 Hz), 4.12-4.09
(2H, m, NHCH2CH); 13C-NMR (DMSO) δ/ ppm: 183.92 (C=S), 162.79 (Cq), 159.03 (Cq), 151.32 (Cq),
136.64 (Cq), 134.36 (CHAr), 133.44 (CHAr), 131.11 (CHAr), 128.73 (CHAr), 128.14 (CHAr), 127.28
(CHAr), 127.43 (CHAr), 124.86 (CHAr), 118.77 (Cq), 117.79 (CH=CH2), 116.57 (CH=CH2), 55.03
(NCH2), 47.85 (NHCH2); Mass spectrum, m/z (Ir/%): 361 (27), 360 (49), 345 (16), 320 (19), 319
(100), 302 (22), 260 (95), 246 (30), 205 (53), 99 (32), 77 (22), 72 (14), 41 (58).

Molecules 2002, 7
102
o
2-Phenyl-4H-3,1-benzothiazin-4-imine (8): 0.25 g (78%); M.p. 216-217 C; For C14H10N2S (238.31)
calculated: 70.56% C, 4.23% H, 11.76% N, 13.45% S; found: 70.35% C, 4.12% H, 11.57% N, 13.37%
-1
1
~
S; FTIR, ν /cm : 3278.09 (NH), 3046.74 (CH), 1663.12 (C=N); H-NMR (DMSO) δ/ ppm: 13.84
13
(1H, s, NH), 8.62– 7.54 (9H, m, ArH); C-NMR (DMSO) δ/ ppm: 151.48 (Cq), 144.25 (Cq), 135.38
(CHAr), 132.08 (Cq), 131.45 (CHAr), 129.24 (CHAr), 128.43 (CHAr), 127.95 (CHAr), 127.55 (Cq); Mass
spectrum, m/z (Ir/%): 238 (23), 238 (100), 222 (8), 206 (29), 205 (92), 178 (8), 151 (9), 134 (7), 119
(21), 108 (9), 102 (34), 77 (53), 76 (22), 51 (14).
2-Phenyl-3,4-dihydroquinazolin-4-thione (9): 0.17g (53%); M.p.162-163 oC; For C14H10N2S (238.31)
calculated: 70.56% C, 4.23% H, 11.76% N, 13.45% S; found: 70.41% C, 4.08% H, 11.49% N, 13.29%
-1
1
~
S; FTIR, ν /cm : 3149 (NH), 3078, 3047 (CH), 1663 (C=N); H-NMR (CDCl3) δ/ ppm: 10.89 (1H,
s, NH), 8.76– 7.52 (9H, m, ArH); 13C-NMR (CDCl3) δ/ ppm: 187.83 (C=S), 162.00 (Cq), 150.15 (Cq),
145.17 (Cq), 135.86 (CHAr), 132.26 (CHAr), 132.22 (Cq), 130.35 (CHAr), 129.61 (CHAr), 128.90
(CHAr), 128.43 (CHAr), 128.14 (Cq), 127.16 (CHAr).
o
2,3-Diphenyl-3,4-dihydroquinazolin-4-imine (10a): 0.26g (62%); M.p. 214-215 C; For C20H14N2S
(314.41) calculated: 76.40% C, 4.49% H, 8.91% N, 10.20% S; found: 76.32% C, 4.41% H, 8.88% N,
-1
1
~
10.06% S; FTIR, ν /cm : 3250 (NH), 3039 (CH), 1634.04 (C=N); H-NMR (DMSO) δ/ ppm: 11.73
(1H, s, NH), 9.02– 7.35 (13H, m, ArH); 13C-NMR (DMSO) δ/ ppm: 158.94 (Cq), 157.13 (Cq), 136.88
(Cq), 135.70 (CHAr), 133.13 (CHAr), 129.17 (CHAr), 128.86 (CHAr), 128.58 (CHAr), 127.95 (CHAr),
126.32 (CHAr), 124.62 (CHAr), 124.48 (CHAr), 120.65 (CHAr), 112.66 (Cq); Mass spectrum, m/z (Ir/%):
314 (<1), 298 (29), 297 (62), 296 (100), 205 (19), 192 (6), 149 (18), 102 (11), 93 (7), 83 (14), 77 (42),
76 (6), 51 (5), 36 (26).
3-(4-Methylphenyl)-2-phenyl-3,4-dihydroquinazolin-4-imine (10b): 0.21g (48%); M.p.207-208 oC; For
C21H16N2S (328.43) calculated: 76.80% C, 4.91% H, 8.53% N, 9.76% S; found: 76.69% C, 4.85% H,
-1
1
~
8.29% N, 9.54% S; FTIR, ν /cm : 3274 (NH), 3069, 2926 (CH), 1634 (C=N); H NMR (DMSO) δ/
13
ppm: 11.52 (1H, s, NH), 8.93– 7.33 (13H, m, ArH), 2.38 (3H, s, CH3); C NMR (DMSO) δ/ ppm:
158.77 (Cq), 157.23 (Cq), 135.66 (CHAr), 134.32 (Cq), 133.08 (CHAr), 129.083 (CHAr), 128.92 (CHAr),
127.91 (CHAr), 124.42 (CHAr), 124.22 (CHAr), 122.34 (CHAr), 120.65 (CHAr), 112.67 (Cq).
o
3-(4-Chlorophenyl)-2-phenyl-3,4-dihydroquinazolin-4-imine (10c): 0.27g (57%); M.p. 183-184 C;
For C20H13ClN2S (348.85) calculated: 68.86% C, 3.76% H, 10.16% Cl, 8.03% N, 9.16% S; found:
-1
~
68.74% C, 3.63% H, 10.14% Cl, 7.96% N, 9.03% S; FTIR, ν /cm : 3273 (NH), 3065, 2926 (CH),
1
13
1633 (C=N); H-NMR (DMSO) δ/ ppm: 11.56 (1H, s, NH), 8.91– 7.58 (13H, m, ArH); C-NMR
(DMSO) δ/ ppm: 158.84 (Cq), 156.95 (Cq), 136.78 (Cq), 135.86 (CHAr), 132.83 (CHAr), 132.03 (CHAr),
129.17 (CHAr), 128.77 (CHAr), 128.59 (CHAr), 126.31 (CHAr), 126.32 (CHAr), 124.58 (CHAr), 124.35
(CHAr), 119.49 (CHAr), 112.36 (Cq).

Molecules 2002, 7
103
3-Benzyl-6-imino-2-phenyl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydro-1,3,5-benzotriazocin-4-thione (11): 0.19g (38%);M.p.
o
170-171 C; For C22H18N4S (370.47) calculated: 71.33% C, 4.90% H, 15.12% N, 8.65% S; found:
-1
~
71.25% C, 4.89% H, 15.03% N, 8.57% S; FTIR, ν /cm : 3256 (NH), 3035 ,2978 (CH), 1645 (C=N);
1H-NMR (DMSO) δ/ ppm: 10.6 (1H, s, NH), 7,49– 7.15 (14H, m, ArH), 4.24 (2H, s, NCH2);
13C-NMR (DMSO) δ/ ppm: 177.01 (C=S), 159.24 (Cq), 152.29 (Cq), 151.18 (Cq), 138.19 (Cq), 133.08
(Cq), 128.67 (CHAr), 128.15 (CHAr), 128.04 (CHAr), 127.05 (CHAr), 126.96 (CHAr), 126.65 (CHAr),
43.07 (CH2).
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