Studies on aroyl- and aryl-hydrazide derivatives from d-glycero-d-gulo-heptono-1,4-lactone

A series of aroyl- and aryl-hydrazide derivatives was prepared from d-glycero-d-gulo-heptono-1,4-lactone (1). The reactivity of the NH proton in these hydrazides, in terms of their dissociation constants (pK_a), was determined from their electronic spectra, and correlated to the Hammett σ values of the substituents. Comparable reactivities of the NH protons for the compounds, and the effect of the substituent, were studied by n.m.r. spectroscopy. Decomposition of the aroylhydrazides with copper(II) sulfate or nitrous acid resulted in the regeneration of 1.