Abstract
The reaction between 1-benzyl-3-carbamoyl-1,4-dihydropyridine (BNAH) 1 and various 1-arylpyridinium salts 2, and the reaction between 1-(4-methylphenyl)-1,4-dihydropyridine 4b and 1-aryl-3-carbamoylpyridinium (1-arylnicotinamide) salts 5 were carried out. The extents of reaction in equilibrium were estimated by nmr integration data. The equilibrium constants for the reactions, K, and the standard Gibbs free energy changes for the reduction of the pyridinium salts to the corresponding 1,4-dihydropyridines ${\Delta}G^{\circ}'$ were evaluated. The Hammett plot of log K for the reaction between 1 and 2, and ${\Delta}G^{\circ}'$ against ${\sigma}_p$ of the substituents in 1-aryl moiety shows linear correlation with the reaction constant ${\rho}$ of 9.4 (for log K vs ${\sigma}_p$) and -54.5 KJ/mole (for ${\Delta}G^{\circ}'$ vs ${\sigma}_p$). It was found that 1-aryl-1,4-dihydropyridines have much higher reducing power than the corresponding 1-aryl-1,4-dihydronicotinamides, and the power is affected greatly by the electron-withdrawing ability of the substituents in aryl group. The reactions were utilized for preparation of 1,4-dihydropyridines bearing highly electron-withdrawing groups such as 4-nitrophenyl and 2,4-dinitrophenyl, which could not be obtained by conventional dithionite reduction of the corresponding pyridinium salts due to the base-labile nature of the salts.