Synthesis of 4-Aryl-3(5)-(2-hydroxyphenyl)pyrazoles by Reaction of Isoflavones and their 4-Thio Analogues

4-Aryl-3(5)-2-(hydroxyphenyl)pyrazoles have been prepared by the reaction of isoflavones and their 4-thio analogues with hydrazine hydrate and phenylhydrazine in hot pyridine. The reaction mechanism for the formation of these pyra-zoles is discussed. All the new compounds have been fully characterized by NMR spectroscopy. In [D6]DMSO, a 1H NMR study allows observation of the presence of both pyrazole annular tautomers, due to the presence of intramolecular hydrogen bonds in each tautomer (OH · · ·N and NH · · ·O). Theoretical calculations have been carried out on tautomers and conformers of compounds 20 (3(5)-(2-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-5(3)-methyl-4-phenylpyrazole) and 21 (3(5)-(2-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-5(3)-methylpyrazole), including the absolute shieldings (GIAO/B