| Abstract: | It is known that propargyl-phenylethers rearrange at about 200° to 2 H-chromenes 1–4]. It is shown that this rearrangement occurs in benzene or chloroform at lower temperatures (20–80°) in the presence of silver-tetrafluoroborate (or-trifluoracetate). The ethers examined are presented in Scheme 1. Thus in chloroform at 61° in the presence of AgBF4, phenyl-propargylether ( 3 ) yields 2 H-chromene ( 13 ). With 0.78 molar equivalents AgBF4 in benzene at 80° the same ether 3 yields a 3:1 mixture of 2-methyl-cumaron ( 14 ) and 2 H-chromene ( 13 ). From 1′-methylpropargyl-phenylether ( 4 ) and 2′-butinyl-3,5-dimethylphenylether ( 5 ) under similar conditions the corresponding chromenes 16 and 17 resp. are obtained. Rearrangement of propargyl- and 2′-butinyl-1-methyl-2-naphthylether ( 6 and 7 resp.) in benzene at 80° in the presence of AgBF4 gives the corresponding allenyl-naphthalenones 18 and 19 resp. Treatment of propargyl- and 2′-butinyl-mesityl-ether ( 8 and 9 resp.), and propargyl- and l′-methylpropargyl- 2 , 6 -dimethyl-phenylether ( 10 and 11 resp.) in benzene at 80° with AgRF, yields as the only product the corresponding 3 -allenyl-phenols 21 , 22 , 24 and 25 (Scheme 3). It is shown that in the presence of μ-dichlor-dirhodiuni (1)-tetracarbonyl in benzene a t 80° the ether 4 rearranges to 2-methyl-2H-chromene (16). However with this catalyst the predominant reaction is a cleavage to phenol. No reaction was observed when ethers 3 and 12 , (Scheme 7 ) were treated with the tris-(trimethylsily1)-ester of vanadic acid in benzene a t 80° (see also 8]). By analogy with the known mechanism for thc silver catalysis of the reversible propargylesterl/allenylester rearrangement S], the silver (1)ion is assumed to form a pre-equilibrium π-complex with the C, C-triplebond of the substrate. This complex then undergoes a 3s, 3s]-sigmatropic rearrangement (Scheme 2). In the case of the others 6 , 7 and 12 the resulting allenyldienones were isolated. The 2,G-dimethyl substituted ethers 8 , 9 , 10 and 11 resp. first give the usual allenyl- dienones (Scheme 3). These then undergo a novel silver catalysed dienon-phenol-rearrangement (Sclzenzu4) to give the 3-allenylphenols 21 , 22 , 24 and 25 . Thc others 3 , 4 and 5 with free ortho positions presumably rearrange first to the non-isolated 2-allenyl-phenols 15 , 42 and 43 resp.(Scheme 7). These then rearrange, either thermally or by silver (1)ion catalysis to the 2H-chromenes 13 , 16 and 17 resp. The rate of the rearrangement of 2-allenylphenol ( 15 ) to 13 at room temperature in benzene or chloroform is approximately doubled when silver ions are present as catalyst. |
