(4) indicates that they are in fact best represented by structure l a rather than structures of type lb. Similar considerations also appear to hold for an isothiazole derivative 2a (5) and for a benzo-1,2-thioxole derivative 2b (6). However, it is of interest to examine related compounds in which the central atom is incapable of valency shell expansion to determine to what extent their properties approach those of the 6a-thiathiophthenes 1. These should possibly exhibit valencytautomerism which has been proposed (7) to explain the properties of the thiathiophthenes. A suitable compound for examination is 7-acetyl-3-methyl-2,I-benzisoxazole (3a), which has a structure of the required potential symmetry for n.m.r. examination and possesses similar electronic and structural features to some benzo-1,2-dithiolium derivatives (8) of the thiathiophthene system.2-Nitroisophthaloyl chloride (4a) reacted with ethyl ethoxymagnesiummalonate to provide the tetracarboxylic ester 46. This was not isolated but provided, after acid hydrolysis, 2,6-diacetylnitrobenzene (4c). This method is reported to be the most satisfactory for the preparation of o-nitroacetophenones (9). When the nitro compound was reduced, using stannous chloride in hydrochloric acid, 7-acetyl-3-methyl-2, I-benzisoxazole (3a) and 2,6-diacetylaniline (4d) were
S-S-S S-S SR UR R J&AR L R1 = H; R2 = Me; Z = NMe b R1, R2 = CH:C(OMe)-CH:CH; Z = 0 obtained after separation by chromatography. 2,6-Diacetylaniline (4d) was obtained as the sole product when the reaction was performed at a higher temperature.Although the 'H n.m.r. spectrum of the 2,lbenzisoxazole 3a in deuterochloroform solution at 0" to 20" gave only one peak, indicating that Can. J. Chem. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by 54.245.55.244 on 05/12/18For personal use only.