Synthesis and Crystal Structure of 3,3,6,6-Tetramethylmorpholine-2,5-dione, and its 5-Monothio- and 2,5-Dithio-Derivatives

Abstract

The synthesis of 3,3-dimethylmorpholine-2,5-diones 4a was achieved conveniently via the ‘direct amide cyclization’ of the linear precursors of type 3, which were prepared by the coupling of 2,2-dimethyl-2H-azirin-3-amines 2 with 2-hydroxyalkanoic acids 1. Thionation of 4a with Lawesson’s reagent yielded the corresponding 5-thioxomorpholin-2-ones 10 and morpholine-2,5-dithiones 11, respectively, depending on the reaction conditions. The structures of 3aa, 4aa, 10a and 11a were established by X-ray crystallography. All attempts to prepare S-containing morpholine-2,5-dione analogs or thiomorpholine-2,5-diones by cyclization of corresponding S-containing precursors were unsuccessful and led to various other products. The structures of some of them have also been established by X-ray crystallography.