Thermal Sigmatropic Rearrangements of Vinylallenes Leading to 11-cis-Retinoids and the Novel Properties of 9-cis,11-cis,13-cis-Retinal and 11-cis,13-cis-Retinal

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/ja00344a034

The thermally induced <1,5> sigmatropic hydrogen shift of vinylallene 5 provided a route to highly hindered 11-cis-retinoids.The coupling ot the hetero cuprate 14 with the propargyl benzoate 13b gave the vinylallene 5, which upon heating (69 deg C, 2 h) gave three geometrically isomeric retinoids: 11-sis (8), 11-cis,13-cis (9), and 9-cis,11-cis,13-cis (11).The fourth possible geometric isomer, 9-cis,11-cis (10), was unstable to the conditions of thermolysis and underwent further electrocyclizations to the tricyclic compound 22.The thermal rearramgement of 9,10-allene 5, though highly specific for the formation of 11-cis-retinoids, exhibits no selectivity in the formation of Δ⁹ and Δ¹³ double bonds.The highly hindered 11-cis,13-cis- and 9-cis,11-cis,13-cis-retinals, 9b and 11b, exhibit extraordinary electronic absorption spectra in that they exhibit their main maxima (302 nm) actually to the blue of the corresponding alcohols.The retinals 9b and 11b were thermally unstable and underwent clean isomerization to 13-cis-retinal and 9-cis,13-cis-retinal, respectively.