Novel one-step synthesis of 2-carbonyl/thiocarbonyl isoindolinones and mechanistic disclosure on the rearrangement reaction of o-phthalaldehyde with amide/thioamide analogs

A rearrangement reaction of o-phthalaldehyde with urea/thiourea analogs or amides/thioamides under the catalysis of TMSCl (trimethylchlorosilane) is described, whereby a series of 2-carbonyl isoindolinones and 2-thiocarbonyl isoindolinones are afforded. This is the first time that the N-carbonyl/thiocarbonyl isoindolinones are synthesized in a single step from o-phthalaldehyde. Similar reactions using primary amines also proceed smoothly to give corresponding N-alkyl or N-aryl isoindolinones in this mild catalytic system. The mechanism of this kind of rearrangement is discussed based on new evidences observed from the ESI-MS time-interval monitoring of the full reaction course and deuterium exchange experiments.