The regioselectivity in the reactions of N-aryl-C-ethoxycarbonylnitrilimines with acrylic acid derivatives

The cycloaddition of a series of C-ethoxycarbonyl-N-arylnitrilimines 5a-f to acrylic acid derivatives namely acrylamide, acrylonitrile and ethyl acrylate has been studied. Under thermal conditions 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions proceed with complete regioselectivity to give 5-R substituted 2-pyrazolines 8–10 in high yield. The structures of the cycloadducts 8–10 were confirmed by ¹³C nmr, ¹H nmr and ir spectra. The regioselectivity is interpreted in terms of HOMO(nitrilimine)-LUMO(dipolarophile) interaction.