One-pot synthesis of 2-arylated and 2-alkylated benzoxazoles and benzimidazoles based on triphenylbismuth dichloride-promoted desulfurization of thioamides

We initially focused on identifying the optimal experimental conditions for the synthesis of 2-phenylbenzoxazole (8a) using 2-aminophenol (1a) with benzothioamides 25 in the presence of organobismuth or organoantimony compounds 6 or 7. The results, including those for the screening of suitable ring-closure reagents, solvents, thioamides, and reagent ratios, are summarized in Table 1. We first performed the reaction of 1a (0.5 mmol) with N-phenylbenzothioamide (2a, 1.0 mmol) using organobismuth or organoantimony reagents 6 or 7 (1.0 mmol) in 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) under aerobic conditions at 60 °C for 18 h (Table 1, entries 1–8). The use of Ph3BiCl26a resulted in the best yield (99%) of the expected product 8a. Screening of the solvents showed that the reaction proceeded effectively in 1,2-DCE, chloroform, and EtOH, among which 1,2-DCE afforded the highest yield of 8a (Table 1, entries 1, 9, and 10). In contrast, THF, toluene, DMF, and DMSO were inefficient reaction solvents (entries 11–14). Thus, 1,2-DCE was the best solvent for the reaction in terms of the product yield of 8a (99%), while chloroform posed a concern of acid contamination. Examination of the optimum amount of reagents 2a and 6a toward 1a proved that the reaction of 1a with 2a and Ph3BiCl26a in the ratio of 1:2:2 provided the best results, affording product 8a in the highest yield (99%) (Table 1, entries 1, 15, and 16). Moreover, in the presence of 30 mol % of 6a and a 1a:2a ratio of 1:2, the reaction was suppressed and the bismuth reagent did not catalyze it (entry 17). The addition of triethylamine as the base afforded 8a in a low yield (32%) (entry 18). At room temperature, the reaction hardly proceeded (entry 19). Screening various thioamides (2a5) showed different behavior in the reaction with 1a and 6a; 2a afforded the desired product 8a in an excellent yield, whereas the N,N-disubstituted thioamide 5 did not react (Table 1, entries 1, 20–22). These results show that N-phenylbenzothioamide (2a) is superior as a C1 unit donor at the 2-position of benzoxazole. Consequently, the best result was obtained when 1a and 2a were reacted in the presence of 6a in 1,2-DCE at 60 °C under aerobic conditions. The optimal reagent, Ph3BiCl2 (6a), can be easily and inexpensively synthesized on a 10 g scale by scaling up the reported procedure (see Supporting Information File 1) [36,37].

Table 1: Screening of reaction conditionsa.

[Graphic 1] Entry Compound R1 R2 Reagent Solvent Yield [%]b 1 2a Ph H Ph3BiCl26a 1,2-DCE 99 (94)c 2 2a Ph H Ph3Bi(OAc)26b 1,2-DCE 12 3 2a Ph H Ph3Bi 6c 1,2-DCE 23 4 2a Ph H BiCl36d 1,2-DCE 38 5 2a Ph H Ph3SbCl27a 1,2-DCE 24 6 2a Ph H Ph3Sb(OAc)27b 1,2-DCE 60 7 2a Ph H Ph3Sb 7c 1,2-DCE – 8 2a Ph H SbCl37d 1,2-DCE 28 9 2a Ph H Ph3BiCl26a CHCl3 98 10 2a Ph H Ph3BiCl26a EtOH 82 11 2a Ph H Ph3BiCl26a THF 54 12 2a Ph H Ph3BiCl26a toluene 49 13 2a Ph H Ph3BiCl26a DMF 22 14 2a Ph H Ph3BiCl26a DMSO 22 15d 2a Ph H Ph3BiCl26a 1,2-DCE 55 16e 2a Ph H Ph3BiCl26a 1,2-DCE 50 17f 2a Ph H Ph3BiCl26a 1,2-DCE 27 18g 2a Ph H Ph3BiCl26a 1,2-DCE 32 19h 2a Ph H Ph3BiCl26a 1,2-DCE 32 20 3 H H Ph3BiCl26a 1,2-DCE 22 21 4 Me H Ph3BiCl26a 1,2-DCE 62 22 5 Ph Me Ph3BiCl26a 1,2-DCE –

aReaction conditions: 1a (0.5 mmol), 2a5 (1.0 mmol), pnictogen reagent (6 or 7: 1.0 mmol); bGC yield using dibenzyl as internal standard; cIsolated yield; d1a (0.5 mmol), 2a (0.75 mmol), 6a (0.75 mmol); e1a (0.5 mmol), 2a (0.5 mmol), 6a (0.5 mmol); f6a (30 mol %); gAddition of Et3N (1.0 mmol); hAt room temperature.

To investigate the efficiency and generality of the above-described cyclization, the reaction of various aminophenols 1 (0.5 mmol) and thioamides 2 (1.0 mmol) was investigated in the presence of Ph3BiCl26a (1.0 mmol) under the optimized conditions. The results are summarized in Table 2. The reaction of aminophenol (1a) with thioamides 2bg bearing electron-donating or electron-withdrawing groups on the phenyl rings (R2) afforded the corresponding 2-arylbenzoxazoles 8bg in good to excellent yields (79–99%). The nature of substituents on the benzene rings of the thioamides did not significantly affect the reaction outcome. Sterically hindered thioamides bearing ortho-substituted aryl groups readily reacted to furnish the corresponding benzoxazoles 8hj; further, the reaction with a thioamide bearing a thiophene ring gave the expected product 8k in excellent yield (96%). Moreover, thioamides bearing alkyl groups (R2 = cyclohexyl, methyl) reacted with aminophenol 1a to afford the 2-alkylbenzoxazoles 8l and 8m. Various aminophenols bearing different electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups at the 4-position of the benzene ring were treated with 2a and 6a to afford the corresponding products 8nr in good to excellent yields. Subsequently, 2-aminophenols with methyl groups at the 3-, 4-, and 5-positions provided satisfactory yields of the products 8o, 8s, and 8t, respectively. On the other hand, an aminophenol with a methyl group at the 6-position provided the product 8u in a low yield. The reaction of 3-amino-2-naphthol with 2a furnished the tricyclic compound 8v in 84% yield. In contrast, the reaction with 3-amino-2-anthracenol resulted in a low yield of the tetracyclic compound 8w due to the low solubility of aminoanthracenol. The reaction of 2a with 2-aminothiophenol instead of 2-aminophenol proceeded smoothly, and the corresponding 2-phenylbenzothiazole (9) was isolated in 93% yield.

Table 2: Synthesis of 2-substituted benzazolesa.

[Graphic 2] Product Yield (%)b Product Yield (%)b [Graphic 3]
8b 95 [Graphic 4]
8c 97 [Graphic 5]
8d 99 [Graphic 6]
8e 92 [Graphic 7]
8f 79 [Graphic 8]
8g 99 [Graphic 9]
8h 89 (5 h) [Graphic 10]
8i 78 (24 h) [Graphic 11]
8j 91 [Graphic 12]
8k 96 [Graphic 13]
8l 97 [Graphic 14]
8m 80 [Graphic 15]
8n 99 [Graphic 16]
8o 84 [Graphic 17]
8p 94 [Graphic 18]
8q 99 [Graphic 19]
8r 99 [Graphic 20]
8s 95 [Graphic 21]
8t 94 [Graphic 22]
8u 55 [Graphic 23]
8v 84 [Graphic 24]
8w 48 [Graphic 25]
9 93    

aReagents and conditions: 1 (0.5 mmol), 2 (1.0 mmol), and 6a (1.0 mmol) in 1,2-DCE at 60 °C; bIsolated yield.

Tafamidis (13), a compound with a 2-arylbenzoxazole skeleton is a clinically used drug for transthyretin amyloid inhibition [38,39], and was first synthesized by Kelly et al. [40]. We synthesized compound 13 by the developed cyclodesulfurization method (Scheme 2). The reaction of methyl 4-amino-3-hydroxybenzoate (10) with 3,5-dichloro-N-phenylbenzothioamide (11) afforded the benzoxazole 12 in 91% yield. The subsequent hydrolysis of compound 12 then afforded the desired product 13 in 92% yield (84% overall). On the other hand, an attempt at the direct synthesis of compound 13 from 4-amino-3-hydroxybenzoic acid, unfortunately, yielded a complex mixture and product 13 was not obtained.

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Scheme 2: Synthesis of tafamidis (13).

In the next stage, the synthesis of 2-substituted benzimidazoles was examined using the same protocol (Table 3). However, the reaction of o-phenylenediamine (14) with 2a in the presence of 6a did not yield the desired 2-phenylbenzimidazole 16a and resulted in a complex mixture. Since the generation of acids such as hydrochloric acid was expected in the reaction system, the reaction was examined using N-tosyl-o-phenylenediamine (15) protected with tosyl group instead of the diamine 14, and the corresponding product 16c was obtained. The reaction of 15 with various thioamides 2 bearing electron-donating or electron-withdrawing groups on the phenyl rings, sterically hindered aryl groups, heteroaryl groups, and alkyl groups also proceeded efficiently, and the corresponding products 16bi were obtained in 70–87% yields, similarly to the syntheses of benzoxazoles.

Table 3: Synthesis of 2-substituted N-tosylbenzimidazolesa.

[Graphic 26] Product Yield (%)b Product Yield (%)b [Graphic 27]
16a 0 [Graphic 28]
16b 76 [Graphic 29]
16c 85 [Graphic 30]
16d 79 [Graphic 31]
16e 87 [Graphic 32]
16f 75 [Graphic 33]
16g 70 [Graphic 34]
16h 72 [Graphic 35]
16i 73    

aReagents and conditions: 1 (0.5 mmol), 2 (1.0 mmol), and 6a (1.0 mmol) in 1,2-DCE at 60 °C; bIsolated yield.

A control experiment was carried out to investigate the reaction pathway and mechanism. When the reaction of benzothioamide (2a) with Ph3BiCl26a in chloroform-d at 60 °C was monitored by 1H NMR spectroscopy, phenylbenzimidoyl chloride (17) was observed to be generated (Scheme 3a) (see Supporting Information File 1 for details). When o-aminophenol (1a) was reacted with 17 [41] in a 1:2 ratio, product 8a and diphenylbenzamidine (18) were obtained in 81% and 86% yields, respectively, after purification by acid–base workup (Scheme 3b). A similar workup was performed for the reaction of 1a and 2a in the presence of 6a under standard conditions, and compounds 8a and 18 were isolated, respectively, in high yields (Scheme 3c). The reaction of 17 with aniline 19 afforded product 18 in 91% yield (Scheme 3d). These results suggest that the generation of benzamidine 18 by-produces aniline (19). On the other hand, aniline generation was not confirmed in the reaction between 1a and 2a without an acid–base workup (Table 1, entry 1). Based on the above control experiments and the reaction under study (which required no base; Table 1, entry 18), a possible mechanism for this cyclodesulfurization approach is shown in Scheme 4. The formation of intermediate A based on S···Bi [42,43] and Cl···H inter-coordination is anticipated from the reaction of thioamide 2 and Ph3BiCl26a as an initial step. With the elimination of hydrochloric acid, intermediate A is converted to intermediate B. When a base such as Et3N was added, hydrochloric acid was trapped and lowered the reaction yield (Table 1, entry 18). The nucleophilic attack of chloride ions on intermediate B produces D via C, which entails isomerization with the elimination of the sulfur-and-bismuth moiety. Aminophenol then reacts with D to generate intermediate F via E, which is converted to the benzoxazole 8, accompanied by the elimination of 19 by aromatization. The generation of hydrochloric acid was important in this reaction, and the addition of Et3N resulted in lower yield because the hydrochloric acid was trapped by the base (Table 1, entry 18). This reaction required two equivalents of thioamide 2 and Ph3BiCl26a for aminophenol (Table 1, entries 1, 15–17). The produced aniline 19 reacts with an excessive amount of D to form benzamidine hydrochloride G. The reaction of D with amines may require an excessive amount of D due to competition between aminophenol and the byproduct aniline. A similar mechanism is considered for the construction of benzimidazole and thiazole rings. On the other hand, the released bismuth moiety, Ph3Bi=S or (Ph3BiS)n, that was expected to be produced in this process, was not confirmed or isolated at this point.

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Scheme 3: Control experiments.

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Scheme 4: Proposed mechanism.

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