A. V. Sadovoy and G. A. Golubeva
3-Dicyanomethylene-2-iminoindolines are obtained on interacting 2-aminoindoles with tetracyanoethylene in acidic medium.We reported previously [1], that on interacting 2-aminoindoles 1 with tetracyanoethylene 2 in neutral or weakly alkaline medium 3,4-dicyano-2-imino-1,2-dihydro-α-carbolines 3 or 2-amino-3,4-dicyano-α-carbolines 3' are formed. However, according to [2] the oxygen analogs of 2-aminoindoles, the oxindoles, react with compound 2 differently, forming 3-dicyanomethylene derivatives. Assuming that in these processes the acidity of the medium is important, we attempted to obtain dicyanomethylene derivatives of 2-aminoindoles under other conditions.It turned out that on heating 2-aminoindoles 1a-c with compound 2 in an acidic medium for 10-60 min in reality the expected 3-dicyanomethylene-2-iminoindolines 4a-c are formed in good yield. They are easily purified, and are well crystallizing compounds, colored an intense red-violet. In their IR spectra (Table 1) bands were present for the stretching vibrations of conjugated C≡N groups and absorption bands for N-H bonds were absent. The 1 H and 13 C NMR spectra did not contradict the proposed structure, and in the mass spectra (Table 1) there was the expected peak for the molecular ion. The fragmentation confirmed the proposed structures.The shade of the coloring of solutions of these compounds depends on the solvent used. Solutions in chloroform and dichloromethane have a red-violet color, but in oxygen-containing solvents (alcohol, acetone, dioxane, DMSO) they are red. The positions of the absorption band maxima in the UV spectra of compounds 4a,c in DMSO and chloroform are practically unchanged, but in DMSO the absorption in the long wave portion of the spectrum is significantly weakened, and on the other hand the trough between the absorption bands at λ ≈ 430 nm ( Fig. 1) is reduced, which leads to a weakening of the blue component of the color. The reason for this effect may probably be coordination of one solvent molecule with the carbon atoms of both nitrile groups of the 4 molecule. Such coordination must lead to some disturbance of the planarity of the dicyanomethylene fragment and consequently to a reduction in the conjugation in molecule 4.