Synthetic and structural study of 4-phosphacyclohexanones and 3-aza-7-phosphabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-9-ones

The synthesis of bicyclic phosphorus–nitrogen (PN) compounds containing the rigid bicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-9-one framework was attempted using the Mannich condensation reaction of four different phosphorinanone classes with amines and aldehydes. Three different isomers of 4-tert-butyl-2,6-di(methoxycarbonyl)-3,5-bis(p-dimethylaminophenyl)-4-phosphacyclohexanone were obtained from the Michael addition reaction of tert-butylphosphine with 2,4-di(methoxycarbonyl)-1,5-bis(p-dimethylaminophenyl)penta-1,4-dien-3-one. The reaction of the all-equatorial isomer with methylamine and formaldehyde produced the bicyclic PN compound 7-tert-butyl-1,5-di(methoxycarbonyl)-6,8-bis(p-dimethylaminophenyl)-3-methyl-3-aza-7-phosphabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-9-one. The identical Mannich reaction of the enol tautomer also yielded the same product, as well as the PN compound 4-tert-butyl-6-methoxycarbonyl-5-(p-dimethylaminophenyl)-2-methyl-2-aza-4-phosphacyclohexanone and the E/Z isomers of 3-(p-dimethylaminophenyl)methyl-2-propenoate. The newly synthesised 3-aza-7-phosphabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-9-one PN compound adopts a chair–chair conformation both in solution and the solid state.