A consecutive double-Criegee rearrangement using TFPAA: stepwise conversion of homoadamantane to oxahomoadamantanes

Rearrangement of 4-methylhomoadamantan-4-ol (1) with trifluoroperacetic acid (TFPAA) in trifluoroacetic acid (TFAA) proceeds with the formation of 4-oxahomoadamantane 6 and its derivatives (4 and 5). 2-exo-Hydroxy-4-oxahomoadamantane (5) and 6 were identified as a result of consecutive O-insertion Criegee rearrangement processes. The absence of methyl trifluoroacetate and methyl trifluoroperacetate among the reaction products, as well as the presence of acetyltrifluoroacetyl peroxide, is consistent with a double rather that a triple oxygen insertion during the course of the Criegee reaction. A mechanism involving initial Criegee rearrangement followed by a Baeyer-Villiger reaction is also excluded by kinetic considerations. The parallel formation of 4-ethyl-3-oxahomoadamantan-2-one (4) was determined to be the result of 4-methylhomoadmantan-4-ol (3) dehydration, with subsequent epoxidation of 4-methylhomoadamant-4-ene (32) to 4,5-epoxy-4-methylhomoadamantane (33), acid-catalyzed isomerization of 33 to 3-methylhomoadamantan-2-one (34), and Baeyer-Villiger oxidation to 3-methyl-5-oxabishomoadamantan-6-one (35). This sequence of reactions was followed by the acid-catalyzed isomerization to the final product 4. The proposed mechanisms for these transformations are discussed on the basis of model experiments and supporting density functional theory (DFT) calculations.