Synthesis, Crystal Structures, and Reactions of 2-Oxomalonyl- bis(arylimidoyl) Chlorides and Hydroxymethane Tris(arylimidoyl) Chlorides

The 2-oxomalonylbis(arylimidoyl) chlorides [C6H3(R2-2,6)N=CCl]2CO (R = Me, 3a; Pri, 3b; H, 3c) were synthesized from C6H3(R2-2,6)NHCHO and an excess of (COCl2)3 and their reaction with various nucleophiles was studied. Successive hydrolysis of 3a led to the formation of [C6H3(Me2-2,6)N=CCl]3COH 4a and [C6H3(Me2-2,6)NHCO]3COH 5a, while treatment of 3a with HAuCl4(H2O)x gave {[C6H3(Me2-2,6)N(H)=CCl][C6H3(Me2-2,6)NHCO]2COH}AuCl4 6a. All compounds were fully characterized by microanalysis, NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and, in the case of 3a, 4a, 5a, and 6a, by X-ray crystallography.