Fast and reversible migrations of N,S-centered groups around the perimeter of cyclopropene and cycloheptatriene rings

The kinetics and mechanism of circumambulatory rearrangements of N-centered (NCS) and S-centered (SPh, SC₃Ph₃, SC(OEt)=S) groups in corresponding derivatives of 1,2,3-triphenylcyclopropene and cycloheptatriene were studied by dynamic¹H and¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Migrations of the isothiocyanate group occur by the dissociation-recombination mechanism with intermediate formation of a tight ionic pair. Migrations of the phenylthio group around the perimeter of cyclopropene and cycloheptatriene rings occur by the 1,2-shift mechanism. It was found that rearrangements of theO-ethyl dithiocarbonate group inS-(1,2,3-triphenylcyclopropen-3-yl)-O-ethyl dithiocarbonate occur by the 3,3-sigmatropic shift mechanism. The molecular and crystal structure ofO-ethylS-(1,2,3-triphenylcyclopropen-3-yl) dithiocarbonate was studied by X-ray analysis.