Cyclohexanone Dimethyl Acetals: A 13C NMR, Thermodynamic, and Ab Initio Study

The spatial structures of a number of mono- and disubstituted 1,1-dimethoxycyclohexanes (cyclohexanone dimethyl acetals) were studied by ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. In the monosubstituted acetals, substituents (Me, Et, i-Pr, and MeO) on C-2 are axially oriented, contrary to their normal, equatorial orientation on C-3 and C-4. Besides the spectroscopic study, the relative thermodynamic stabilities of the cis-trans isomers of a few 2,X-dialkyl (X = 3, 4, 5, or 6) derivatives of the parent cyclohexanone dimethyl acetal were determined by acid-catalyzed chemical equilibration in MeOH solution. In the most stable isomeric form, the 2-substituent is axial and the other equatorial. In the less stable isomer, both substituents are equatorial, excluding the cis-2,6-dimethyl derivative, where the ¹³C NMR shift data point to a predominance of the diaxial form. In general, the enthalpy difference between the isomeric forms is ca. 9 kJ mol^–1, while the entropy term favors the less stable isomer by 4 to 16 J K^–1 mol^–1. In the 2,6-dimethyl derivatives, however, the trans form is favored by only 0.8 kJ mol^–1 in G _m at 298.15 K. The main findings of the experimental work are in good agreement with ab initio calculations.