Nine 3,5-dihydro-4
H
-pyrido[2,3-
b
][1,4]diazepin-4-ones (
17
–
25
), some
of which contain fluoro-substituents, have been regiospecifically
prepared by reaction of 2,3-diaminopyridines with ethyl aroylacetates.
In two cases, open intermediates have been isolated and these are
related to the reaction pathway. The X-ray crystal structure of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-3,5-dihydro-4
H
-pyrido[2,3-
b
][1,4]diazepin-4-one (
23
) has been solved (formula, C
15
H
13
N
3
O; crystal system, monoclinic; space group,
C
2/
c
). This is an asymmetric unit constituted
by a single nonplanar molecule and its conformational enantiomer due
to the presence of the seven-membered diazepin-2-one moiety, which
introduces a certain degree of torsion in the adjacent pyridine ring.
The
1
H,
13
C,
15
N, and
19
F NMR spectra were obtained and the chemical shifts, together with
those of the previously published 1,3-dihydro-2
H
-benzo[
b
][1,4]diazepin-2-ones (
1
–
16
), i.e., a total of 544 values, were successfully compared with the
chemical shifts calculated at the gauge invariant atomic orbital (GIAO)/Becke,
three-parameter, Lee–Yang–Parr (B3LYP)/6-311++G(d,p)
level. The seven-membered ring inversion barrier in 5-benzyl-2-phenyl-3,5-dihydro-4
H
-pyrido[2,3-
b
][1,4]diazepin-4-one (
25
) was determined and, in conjunction with the data from
the literature, compared with the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) computed values.
This allowed the determination of several structural effects. The
rotation about the exocyclic N1–CR bond was also calculated
and its dynamic properties were discussed.