[3,3]-Sigmatropic rearrangement of allyl and 2-butenyl 1-naphthyl sulfides

The [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of alkenyl 1-naphthyl sulfides in solutions with various polarities was investigated at 138–190 °C. The reaction proceeds through the formation of 2-alkenyl-1-naphthalene thiols, which subsequently undergo cyclization to compounds of the 2,3-dihydronaphtho[1,2-b]thiophene and naphtho[1,2-b]dihydrothiopyran series. 2-Butenyl 1-naphthyl sulfide, in addition to its passing directly through a [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement, to a considerable extent undergoes a prior [1,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement, which ultimately leads to the formation of four cyclic products. The kinetic parameters of the rearrangement of the sulfides were determined. The more negative entropies of activation constitute evidence for the high symmetry of the transition state.Translated from Khimiya Geterotskilicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 611–614, May, 1981.