Stable enols of amides ArNHC(OH)=C(CN)CO(2)R. E/Z enols, equilibria with the amides, solvent effects, and hydrogen bonding.

The structures of anilido cyano(fluoroalkoxycarbonyl)methanes ArNHCOCH(CN)CO(2)R, where R = CH(2)CF(3) or CH(CF(3))(2), Ar = p-XC(6)H(4), and X = MeO, Me, H, or Br, were investigated. In the solid state, all exist as the enols ArNHC(OH)=C(CN)CO(2)R 7 (R = CH(2)CF(3)) and 9 (R = CH(CF(3))(2)) with cis arrangement of the hydrogen-bonded ROC=O.HO moiety and a long C1=C2 bond. The product composition in solution is solvent dependent. In CDCl(3) solution, only a single enol is observed, whereas in THF-d(8) and CD(3)CN, two enols (E and Z) are the major products, and the amide is the minor product or not observed at all (K(Enol) 1.04-9 (CD(3)CN, 298 K) and 3 to >/=100 (THF, 300 K)). The percentage of the amide and the Z-enol increase upon an increase in temperature. In all solvents, the percent enol is higher for 9 than for 7. In CD(3)CN, more enol is observed when the aryl group is more electron-donating. The spectra in DMSO-d(6) and DMF-d(7) indicate the presence of mostly a single species, whose spectra do not change on addition of a base and is ascribed to the anion of the ionized carbon acid. Comparison with systems where the CN is replaced by a CO(2)R group (R = CH(2)CF(3), CH(CF(3))(2)) shows a higher percentage of enol for the CN-substituted system. Intramolecular (to CO(2)R) and intermolecular hydrogen bonds determine, to a significant extent, the stability of the enols, their Z/E ratios (e.g., Z/E (THF, 240 K) = 3.2-4.0 (7) and 0.9-1.3 (9)), and their delta(OH) in the (1)H spectra. The interconversion of Z- and E-enol by rotation around the C=C bond was studied by DNMR, and DeltaG() values of >/=15.3 and 14.1 +/- 0.4 kcal/mol for Z-7 and Z-9 were determined. Features of the NMR spectra of the enols and their anions are discussed.