CC BY 4.0 · Synthesis 2023; 55(16): 2473-2482
DOI: 10.1055/a-2097-0092
feature

Kinetic or Thermodynamic Product? Case Studies on the Formation of Regioisomers of Tetraphenyladamantanes

Tim Berking
,
Wolfgang Frey
,
Clemens Richert
This work was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), grant No. RI-1063/17-1, and the University of Stuttgart.


Abstract

Tetraaryladamantanes (TAAs) with alkoxyphenyl groups are interesting synthetic targets because they can act as crystallization chaperones for liquid compounds. Their carbon framework is set up by Friedel–Crafts alkylation, using adamantane-1,3,5,7-tetraol and anisole derivatives as starting materials. One successful chaperone is 1,3,5,7-tetrakis(2-bromo-4-methoxyphenyl)adamantane (TBro). This compound was initially considered the thermodynamic product of alkyl­ation and its reaction towards strong Brønsted acid is reported. We now report that exposure of TBro to strong Brønsted acid leads to its regioisomer 1,3,5,7-tetrakis(4-bromo-2-methoxyphenyl)adamantane (iTBro) as the dominant product, obtained in a yield of 68%, far surpassing the 20% yield reported earlier for TBro. We also investigated the reactions of 3-iodo-, 3-chloro-, and 3-fluoroanisole to the corresponding TAAs and obtained yields of 66%, 26% and 52% for the main regioisomer. While 3-iodoanisole gave the same regioisomer as bromoanisole, 3-chloroanisole afforded complex mixtures and 3-fluoroanisole furnished 1,3,5,7-tetrakis(2-fluoro-4-methoxyphenyl)adamantane (TFM) in 52% yield as the main product. When mixtures of regioisomers were isomerized with an excess of triflic acid, the thermodynamic products were obtained in 76–91%. These results show how subtle effects govern the regioisomeric product distribution of aryladamantanes. They also help to make novel crystallization chaperones accessible in high yields.

Supporting Information



Publication History

Received: 28 March 2023

Accepted after revision: 11 May 2023

Accepted Manuscript online:
22 May 2023

Article published online:
19 June 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany