Mass spectra of new heterocycles: VIII. Fragmentation of 6-alkoxy- and 6-aryl(hetaryl)-3H-azepines under electron impact

The electron impact mass spectra of previously unknown 2-alkyl-6-alkoxy-, 2,3-trimethylene-6-alkoxy- and 2-alkyl-6-aryl(hetaryl)-3H-azepines were studied. All compounds give rise to stable molecular ions (I _rel = 44–100%) whose fragmentation pattern is determined mainly by the substituent on C⁶. Decomposition of the molecular ions derived from 6-alkoxy derivatives (R¹ = MeO, EtO, i-PrO) follows general relations typical of alkyl ethers. The main characteristic peaks in the mass spectra of 2-methyl-6-aryl- and 2-methyl-6-hetaryl-3H-azepines (R¹ = Ph, 1H-pyrrol-1-yl, 5-methylthiophen-2-yl) belong to even-electron rearrangement ions [M − H]⁺ and [M − Me]⁺, which have conjugated bi- and tricyclic structures, and products of their subsequent decomposition. Substituents in positions 2 (R²) and 3 (R⁴) [R⁴ = H, R² = Me, Et; R²R⁴ = (CH₂)₃] bring some specificity to the fragmentation pattern, but their contribution is not crucial. Original Russian Text ? L.V. Klyba, N.A. Nedolya, O.A. Tarasova, E.R. Zhanchipova, O.G. Volostnykh, 2009, published in Zhurnal Organicheskoi Khimii, 2009, Vol. 45, No. 4, pp. 610–621. For communication VII, see [1].