Structural verification of a tetrahydrotetrazole compound

Tetrahydrotetrazoles are five-membered-ring heterocycles containing four contiguous saturated nitrogen atoms. Very few examples of such compounds have been reported in the literature. Our previous attempt at the synthesis of a member of this class of compound suggested that the N-N bonds may be more labile than expected. This finding raised the question as to whether the structures of any of the previously reported tetrahydrotetrazoles had been properly assigned. We have reproduced the synthesis of a reported tetrahydrotetrazole, namely 1,2-di-tert-butyl 3-phenyl-1H,2H,3H,10bH-[1,2,3,4]tetrazolo[5,1-a]isoquinoline-1,2-dicarboxylate, C₂₅H₃₀N₄O₄, and have now confidently confirmed its structure via X-ray crystallography. However, while sufficiently stable in the crystal phase, we discovered that it remains very labile in solution (having a half-life of only 15 min at 20 °C in CDCl₃). A tentative reaction pathway for its dissociation based on ¹H NMR spectral evidence is provided.