On triazoles XLII . A new convenient method for the N‐alkylation of highly insoluble cyclic amides

A simple N‐alkylation method of highly insoluble cyclic amides based on the high solubility of their easily isolable tetraalkylammonium and tetraalkylphosphonium salts was elaborated. The method has a rather wide scope, it is not influenced by the identity of the different rings attached to the 1,2,4‐triazolo[1,5‐a]‐pyrimidinone moiety of isomers 1 and 2 , nor the presence of the triazole substituents. It proceeds smoothly without any unwanted by‐products, at relatively low temperatures, and is not sensitive to moisture. The method allows an easy isolation of all possible N‐alkylated derivatives 3, 7 , and 8 . Spectral analysis of isomers 3, 7 , and 8 showed that our previous results concerning the formation of 3 type N‐alkylated derivatives as main products of the N‐alkylations as well as the tautomeric structure of the non‐alkylated isomers 1 and 2 is correct. However, it also showed that the isolation of a single N‐alkylated isomer 3 and its comparison with the corresponding non‐alkylated derivative to prove its tautomeric structure may lead to mistakes.