Hindered rotation around the aryl-to-nitrogen bond of n-acetyl,n-ethoxycarbonylmethyl-2-amino, 5-nitrothiophen

Two stereoisomers of the title compound are observed by H NMR at 10°. Their spectra coalesce at higher temperature (10°-90°). The equilibrium and rate constants K and k, strongly dependent on the solvent used (1,4-dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, acetone, chloroform); typical values for these parameters and the related thermodynamic functions are: K(25°)= 0.170; k(25°)=23.2s^?1; ΔH_R and ΔH^≠=4.94 and 17.9 kcal.mol.^?1; ΔS_R and ΔS^≠ =13.1 and 7.7 e.u, in a 0.2 molar solution in 1,4-dioxane. The two isomers are shown to result from a hindered rotation around the aryl-to-nitrogen bond, presumably due to a direct resonance effect between the amide and nitro groups. The more abundant isomer was assigned a planar molecular structure in which the O atom of the amide group is close to the S atom of the thiophen ring, presumably on account of an electrostatic interaction between these two atoms which bear partial electrical charges of opposite sign.