Dithionite adducts of pyridinium salts: regioselectivity of formation and mechanisms of decomposition

1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy has been used to detect and to characterize the adducts formed, in alkaline solutions, by the attack of dithionite anion on 3-carbamoyl or 3-cyano substituted pyridinium salts. In all studied cases, only 1,4-dihydropyridine-4-sulfinates, formed by attack of dithionite oxyanion on the carbon 4 of pyridinium ring, were found. This absolute regioselectivity seems to suggest a very specific interaction between the pyridinium cation and the dithionite through the formation of a rigidly oriented ion pair, determining the position of attack. In weak alkaline solution, the adducts decompose according to two mechanisms SNi and SNi′: the SNi path is operative in all studied cases and preserves the 1,4-dihydro structure yielding the corresponding 1,4-dihydropyridines, whereas the SNi′ path involves the shift of 2,3 or 5,6 double bonds yielding 1,2- or 1,6-dihydropyridines, respectively. The formation of 1,2- or 1,6-dihydropyridines, in addition to 1,4-dihydro isomers, depends on their respective thermodynamic stabilities.