Isolation and thermal rearrangement of a 4aH-benzocycloheptene
Abstract
The 4aH-benzocycloheptene (1b) rearranges at 140 °C to the 7H-benzocycloheptene (12); a pathway is suggested which involves valence tautomerism to a bisnorcaradiene intermediate, followed by a [1,5] shift of the ester group.