Lactam acetals and acid amides. 31. Synthesis, protonation, and basicities of some heterocyclic enamino ketones
The protonation of cyclic enamino ketones of the pyrrolidine, piperidine, and hexahydroazepine series, as well as their noncyclic analogs, was studied by PMR spectroscopy. It is shown that the presence of a CH2 or CH3 group in the “enamine” position leads to C protonation (in CF3COOH). In the case of enamino ketones that do not contain substituents in the “enamine” α position N-and O-protonated forms are observed in CF3COOH. The measured pKa values (in 10% alcohol) and the ΔpKa values (in nitromethane) of the enamino ketones show that the compounds for which C protonation is characteristic are two to three orders of magnitude more basic than in the case of compounds that do not contain substituents in the “enamine” α position; this is explained by the different character of protonation.