Syntheses of 1,4-benzothiazepines and 1,4-benzoxazepines via cyclizations of 1-[2-arylthio(oxy)ethyl]-5-benzotriazolyl-2-pyrrolidinones and 3-benzotriazolyl-2-[2-arylthio(oxy)ethyl]-1-isoindolinones.

1-[2-Arylthio(oxy)ethyl]-5-benzotriazolyl-2-pyrrolidinones 6a-e, 12 and 3-benzotriazolyl-2-[2-arylthio(oxy)ethyl]-1-isoindolinones 9a-f, 14 are readily available from reactions of benzotriazole (4), 2-(arylsulfanyl)ethylamines 3, or 2-phenoxyethylamine (11) with 2,5-dimethoxy-2,5-dihydrofuran (5) or 2-formylbenzoic acid (8). Lewis acid mediated cyclizations of 6 and 9 produced novel 1,4-benzothiazepines 7a-e and 10a-f, respectively. Cyclizations of 12 and 14 gave 1,4-benzoxazepines 13 and 15, respectively.