Umwandlung von 6-Methylen-tricyclo[3.2.1.02,7]oct-3-en-8-onen mit Ameisensäure in kernmethylierte Phenylessigsäuren

In a preceding communication 5] it was shown that 1, 5-dimethyl-6-methylene-tricyclo3.2.1.0^2,7]oct-3-en-8-one ( 2 ) and related tricyclic ketones are converted by strong acids (CF₃COOH, FSO₃H) into polymethylated tropylium salts with loss of carbon monoxide, e.g. the 1, 2, 4-trimethyltropylium ion 4 from 2 (Scheme 1). Under the influence of neat formic acid at 20°, 2 gives rise to ring-methylated phenylacetic acids, i.e. 2, 4, 5-trimethylphenylacetic acid ( 5 , main product) as well as smaller amounts of 2, 4, 6-and 2, 3, 5-trimethylphenylacetic acids ( 6, 7 resp.; Scheme 2). –On rearrangement of 2 in HCOOD, ca. 2 D-atoms are incorporated (formula d₂-5) into the 2, 4, 5-trimethylphenylacetic acid. The tricyclic 15 , containing 3 methyl groups, gives 2, 3, 5, 6-tetramethylphenylacetic acid ( 11 ; Scheme 4) with formic acid; the isomeric tricyclic 16 , 2, 3, 4, 5-tetramethylphenylacetic acid ( 12 ; Scheme 5). From 1, 2, 4, 5-tetramethyl-6-methylene-tricyclo3.2.1.0^2,7]oct-3-en-8-one ( 17 ) one obtains pentamethylphenylacetic acid ( 14 ; Scheme 6). Similarly from 18 , a phenylacetic acid derivative, most probably 4-ethyl-2, 5-dimethyl-phenylacetic acid ( 19 ; Scheme 17), has been obtained. –In no case was the formation of α-phenylpropionic acid derivatives observed, not even from the tricyclic 23 containing six methyl groups. From the tricyclic ketone 2 in 70% formic acid a trimethyl-cyclohepta-2, 4, 6-triene-1-carboxyclic acid with partial formula 24 , besides 2, 4, 5-trimethylphenylacetic acid ( 5 ), is formed. 24 remained practically unchanged on standing in neat formic acid and thus does not represent an intermediate product arising by the rearrangement of 2 in that solvent. On standing in methanolic sulfuric acid, tricyclic 2 furnishes the two stereioisomeric methanol-addition products Z- 26 and E- 26 (Scheme 10); these are converted into the phenylacetic acids 5 , 6 and 7 by neat formic acid. The conversion of 2 and related compounds into ring-polymethylated phenylacetic acids, represents a novel and rather complicated reaction. In our opinion the reaction paths represented in Schemes 12 and 18 are responsible for the conversion of 2 into the trimethylphenylacetic acids, compound 40 representing a key intermediate. Analogous reaction paths can be assumed for the other tricyclic ketone transformations. The use of shift reagents in the NMR. spectroscopy and the high-resolution gas-chromatography of the corresponding methyl esters proved particularly important for the analysis of the reaction mixtures. The majority of the polymethylated phenylacetic acids were independently synthesised by means of the Willgerodt-Kindler reaction (chap. 3.2.), whose course is strongly influenced by methyl groups in the ortho-positions of the acetophenone derivatives employed.