Study of spontaneous E/Z isomerization of bis[(Z)‐cyanomethylidene]‐diazapentacyclodienedicarboxylates by 1H, 13C,and 15N NMR spectroscopy,X‐ray,and quantum chemical calculation data

X‐ray data show that the diethyl 6,13‐bis(Z)‐cyanomethylidene]‐5,5,14,14‐tetramethyl‐4,15‐dioxa‐7,12‐diazapentacyclo9.5.2.0^2,10.0^3,7.0^12,16]octadeca‐8,17‐diene‐10,17‐dicarboxylate is formed as the ZZ isomer and diastereomer with the (1R*,2R*,3R*,10S*,11R*,12R*,16R*) configuration. The ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N NMR data exhibit that on standing in chloroform‐d solution, there is a spontaneous isomerization of this compound resulting in a thermodynamically stable mixture of the ZZ, ZE, EE, and EZ isomers with the same backbone. Using the 2D ¹H–¹H] COSY, ¹H–¹³C] HSQC, and ¹H–¹³C, ¹H–¹⁵N] HMBC NMR techniques and quantum chemical calculations makes it possible a complete assignment of signals in the ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N NMR spectra of each of the isomers. Such isomerization does not occur for similar compounds with the more bulky substituents at the 1,3‐oxazolidine rings. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.