Molecular rearrangements of 4-iminomethyl-1,2,3-triazoles. Replacement of 1-aryl substituents in 1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carbaldehydes

The two structural isomers, 4 and 5 , of 1-substituted-4-iminomethyl-1,2,3-triazoles are interconvertible when heated in dimethyl sulfoxide at 80°. The equilibrium position depends on the electronic properties of the R-substituent, favoring 5 for R = alkyl, benzyl and anisyl, and 4 for p-chlorophenyl and p-nitrophenyl. An interesting application is the synthesis of 1-alkyl-1,2,3-triazole-4-carbaldehydes from 1-phenyl-1,2,3-triazole-4-carbaldehyde by Scheme I. The hydrazones 4ij and the oxime 4k do not rearrange due to an unfavorable Z-configuration around the C ? N bond, whereas the acyloximino derivative 4m is converted into the nitrile 11 . The structures of the products have been fully characterized by ¹³C nmr spectroscopy and the mechanistic details of the rearrangement are discussed.