Synthesis and structure determination of isomeric 7- and 8-chloro-1,5-benzodiazepine derivatives

Reaction of 4-chloro-1,2-benzenediamine with 3,3-dimercapto-1-phenyl-2-propen-1-one afforded, as expected, a mixture of 7-chloro and 8-chloro-1,3-dihydro-4-phenyl-2H-1,5-benzodiazepine-2-thione. After separation of the two components and further reaction, their structure was established by chemical degradation of 7-chloro-2-(2-diethylaminoethylthio)-4-phenyl-3H-1,5-benzodiazepine to 5-chloro-1,3-dihydro-1-methyl-2H-benzimidazol-2-one. The structure was also confirmed by single X-ray analysis of 7-chloro-2-(2-diethylaminoethylthio)-4-phenyl-3H-1,5-benzodiazepine.