1H NMR spectra of 1-alkyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-2-oxo-3-azocine-carboxylic acid derivatives and their analogues

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/0040-4020(80)85028-9

¹H NMR spectra of 1-alkyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-2-oxo-3-azocinecarboxylates and -carbonitriles indicated that the geminal protons at the 1-α-position were located in noneqnivalent magnetic environments. The difference in the chemical shifts amounted to as much as 0.73 ppm in the case of methyl 1-ethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-2-oxo-3-azocinecarboxylate at 26°, and the free energy of activation for the coalescence was estimated to be larger than 23 kcal mol. The same type of nonequivalence and coalescence phenomena were also observed even with dimethyl protons at the 1-γ-position of 1-isobutyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-2-oxo-3-azocinecarboxylate (ΔG^≠_c = 19 kcal mol). The situation was hardly affected by the reduction of the CC double bonds. The nonequivalence was not observed, however, if the substituent at the 3-position was absent. Therefore, these novel ¹H NMR spectra of 1-alkyl protons in the title compounds were concluded to be due to strong coupling between the restricted rotation around N(1)-C(α) bond and inversion of the 2-oxoazocine ring which required high energy of activation.