Regioselectivity of the hydrolysis of 2-(1-alkoxyvinyl)-substituted imidazolidines, 1,3-thiazolidines,and 1,3-oxazolidines

2-(1-Alkoxyvinyl)-1,3-thiazolidines reacted with H₂O or D₂O in the presence of 105 mol % of p-toluenesulfonic acid or trifluoroacetic acid (20°C, 1 h) to give 2-acetyl-1,3-thiazolidine in quantitative yield. 2-(1-Alkoxyvinyl)-3,5-diphenylimidazolidines underwent hydrolysis in the presence of 20 mol % of an acid (20°C, 24 h) at the vinyloxy group with high regioselectivity yielding 2-acetylimidazolidines. Hydrolysis of 2-(1-alkoxyvinyl)-3-phenyl-1,3-oxazolidines in the presence of 10 mol % of p-toluenesulfonic acid (20°C, 5 days) takes two pathways, one of which involves the endocyclic C-O bond with ring opening and the other involves the vinyloxy group to produce 2-acetyl-3-phenyl-1,3-oxazolidine. Unlike phenyl-substituted 1,3-thiazolidines and imidazolidines, hydrolysis of their 3-methyl- and 3,5-dimethyl-substituted analogs in acid medium occurs mainly via ring opening. The observed hydrolysis pathways were interpreted in terms of B3PW91/6-311G(d,p) quantum-chemical calculations.