Studies on the Imide-Amide Rearrangement of Cyclic Phosphorimidates

Abstract

The imide-amide rearrangement of cyclic phosphorirnidates 1 leads to the formation of phosphoramidates 3, either thermally (> 180°C) or by the action of a Lewis acid (BF₃ OEt₂, 60°C)¹. In an attempt to develop a synthetic pathway to β aminoalcohols based on this rearrangement, we have thoroughly studied the influence of the structure of the reactants on the Lewis acid catalysed rearrangement. This study brought some insight into the mechanism of this particular reaction, namely the identification of a new polymeric structure 2. not yet described, which is converted into 3 by thermolysis². The formation of 2 at rt was followed by ³ P NMR. In the case of R′˭ Ph, the reactivity observed for R₂N was: i-Pr₂N > Pyrrolidine > n-Bu²N For R²=i-Pr₂, the observed R′ group effect was: Bn > 4-NO₂Bn > Ph. No reaction was observed for R′ ˭ Ts, n-Oct. In the case of the groups R′ ˭ Bn and R₂=i Pr₂ the Lewis acid effect was also studied: BF₃OEt₂, BF₃MeOr-Bu, Sc(OTf)₃ or CITi(Oi-Pr)₃ or Me₂SnCl₂.