Regioselectivity of the ortho- and para-semidine, and diphenyline rearrangements

The regioselectivity of the o-semidine, p-semidine, and diphenyline rearrangements of unsymmetrical N,N'-diarylhydrazines was studied experimentally. The results indicate that their electron-rich nitrogen atom is first protonated and then the electron-poor non-protonated nitrogen atom undergoes an N[1,3]-sigmatropic shift to the ortho-position of the electron-rich aryl rings, generating key intermediates. The intermediates can undergo (1) a direct proton transfer to give o-semidines, (2) a second N[1,3]-shift of the electron-poor nitrogen atom and then proton transfer to furnish p-semidines, and (3) a [3,3]-sigmatropic shift and subsequent proton transfer to yield diphenylines. It is the first N[1,3]-sigmatropic shift step that plays an important role in controlling the regioselectivity in the three rearrangements, further determining the structures of o-semidines, p-semidines, and diphenylines. The current results provide new insights into the o/p-semidine and diphenyline rearrangements and useful information for controlling and predicting the structures of the rearrangement products. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.