We describe a method to synthesize a new class of hetarylaminomethylidene derivatives of furan-2(3H)-ones. The method uses 5-(4-chlorophenyl)furan-2(3H)-one, triethyl orthoformate, and heterocyclic amines with different ring sizes and heteroatoms under refluxing in absolute isopropyl alcohol. The obtained enamines exist in an equilibrium of E- and Z-isomers, whose configurations relative to the double exocyclic C=C bond were confirmed with a set of NMR spectroscopy data. The E-/Z-equilibrium of the synthesized compounds is affected by the configuration of the intermediate, the volume of its substituents, the site of enolate attack, the presence of intramolecular interactions of amino components, the time of the transformation, the order of mixing of the initial reagents, and the use of polar solvents in the NMR experiment. The advantages of the method are that the reaction time is short, the product yield is high, and product purification is easy.
Keywords: furan-2(3H)-ones; hetarylaminomethylidene derivatives; one-pot reactions; physicochemical methods; selective synthesis; spectroscopy.