Relative Thermodynamic Stabilities of Isomeric Vinyl Ethers Derived from 2-Acetyland 2-Isobutyryltetrahydrofurans. An Experimental and DFT Study

The relative thermodynamic stabilities of four isomeric vinyl ethers obtained by acid-catalyzed cleavage of MeOH from the dimethyl acetals of both 2-acetyltetrahydrofuran and 2-isobutyryltetrahydrofuran have been determined by chemical equilibration in cyclohexane solution. In addition, the structures and relative energies of many of these compounds have also been studied theoretically by DFT calculations. In each series of compounds, the endocyclic isomers, 5-(1-methoxyethyl)-2,3-dihydrofuran and 5-(1-methoxy-2-methylpropyl)-2,3-dihydrofuran, respectively, show the highest thermodynamic stabilities. This is particularly prominent for the vinyl ethers derived from 2-isobutyryltetrahydrofuran in which the equilibrium mixture consists of 90% of the endocyclic isomer at room temperature. The geometrical (exocyclic) isomers of the latter series of compounds show unexpected relative thermodynamic stabilities, but on the basis of the geometry-optimized structures provided by the DFT calculations, a reasonable explanation can be found.