Substitution Reactions Which Proceed via Radical Anion Intermediates

A new type of substition process at a saturated carbon atom is described. These reactions, which proceed via a chain sequence in which radical anions and free radicals are intermediates, are noteworthy for providing novel and powerful means of synthesis: they occur readily under mild conditions, they give excellent yields of pure products, and, in contrast to S_N2 displacements, they are rather insensitive to steric hindrance. As a consequence, radical anion processes are especially valuable for the preparation of highly branched structures. Many inorganic and organic anions readily enter into these displacements and, indeed, amines are also effective. Systems which undergo substitutions via this electron transfer mechanism include benzylic, cumylic, strictly aliphatic, and heterocyclic molecules. It is of interest that a number of groups which do not behave as leaving groups in S_N2 displacements are readily displaced at room temperature from a satureted carbon atom via the radical anion-free radical pathway, e.g., nitro, azide, sulfone, and ether groups.     

ESR-Spectroscopic Investigation of Radical Cations,Radical Anions,and Radical Trianions of Didehydro[n]annulenes

The didehydro[n]annulenes 1 (n = 14), 2 (n = 18), and 3 (n = 22) are oxidized to radical cations. Reduction of the title compounds leads to radical anions and, in the case of 2 and 3 , to radical trianions. The hyperfine data of the paramagnetic derivatives are rationalized in terms of the occupation of n-membered (n = 14, 18, 22) π-perimeter MO's (HOMO, LUMO, NLUMO). The contact-ion pairs of the radical anions show unexpectedly large alkali-metal coupling constants.     

Amidyl Radical Directed Remote Allylation of Unactivated sp3 C−H Bonds by Organic Photoredox Catalysis

The development of visible‐light‐mediated allylation of unactivated sp³ C?H bonds is reported. The remote allylation was directed by the amidyl radical, which was generated by photocatalytic fragmentation of a pre‐functionalized amide precursor. Both aromatic and aliphatic amide derivatives could successfully deliver the remote C?H allylation products in good yields. A variety of electron deficient allyl sulfone systems could be used as δ‐carbon radical acceptor.     

Radical anions of flavonoids

Several representatives of natural flavonoids and their synthetic nitro‐derivatives have been investigated by polarography and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy under electrochemical reduction in acetonitrile, dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) or 1,2‐dimethoxyethane. All the compounds studied are reduced in the first stage by one‐electron transfer, apart from flavanone, which accepts two electrons simultaneously. However, the primary radical anions were detected by EPR spectroscopy only for 4′‐nitroflavone. It was shown that radical anions of other flavonoids quickly dimerized. The analysis of the temperature dependence of the hyperfine interaction constants and broadening of lines in EPR spectra of 4′‐nitroflavone radical anions has shown that the distribution of spin density is due to both the change of polarity of the medium and rotation of the nitrophenyl moiety. The assignment of hyperfine structure constants for the 4′‐nitroflavone radical anion was confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cobalt and Iron Stabilized Ketyl,Ketiminyl and Aldiminyl Radical Anions

Carbonyl and iminyl based radical anions are reactive intermediates in a variety of transformations in organic synthesis. Herein, the isolation of ketyl, and more importantly unprecedented ketiminyl and aldiminyl radical anions coordinated to cobalt and iron complexes is presented. Insights into the electronic structure of these unusual metal bound radical anions is provided by X-Ray diffraction analysis, NMR, IR, UV/Vis and Mössbauer spectroscopy, solid and solution state magnetometry, as well as a by a detailed computational analysis. The metal bound radical anions are very reactive and facilitate the activation of intra- and intermolecular C−H bonds.     

Out-of-Plane Distortions of Chlorinated Nitrobenzene Radical Anions

According to UHF/INDO calculations of the model conformations of the chlorinated nitrobenzene radical anions, the rotation of the nitro group relative to the plane of the benzene ring is accompanied by its pyramidal deformation caused by the pseudo-Jahn–Teller effect. The degree of the structural distortions of the chlorinated nitrobenzene radical anions depends on the arrangement of the chlorine atoms in the benzene ring and on the solvent, increasing from DMF to its mixtures with water. The isotropic hyperfine coupling constants and their dependence on the water content in a binary mixture of solvents are interpreted for a number of chlorinated nitrobenzene radical anions.     

Supramolecular Radical Anions Triggered by Bacteria In Situ for Selective Photothermal Therapy

A supramolecular complex that can be selectively reduced to radical anions in situ by facultative anaerobic bacteria is reported. To this end, a water‐soluble bifunctional monomer bearing perylene diimide was synthesized, and its supramolecular complex with cucurbit[7]uril was fabricated on the basis of host–guest complexation, which could be reduced to forming radical anions in the presence of E. coli . It was found that this supramolecular complex could display different ability of generating radical anions by facultative anaerobic and aerobic bacteria in terms of their various reductive abilities. The selective antibacterial activity of the supramolecular complex could be realized by the photothermal performance of the radical anions under near‐infrared irradiation. It is anticipated that this method may lead to a novel bacteria‐responsive photothermal therapy to regulate balance of bacterial flora.     

Radical induced fragmentation of amino acid esters using triphenylcorrole(CuIII) complexes

A triphenylcorrole(CuIII) complex is covalently bound to amino acid esters at the nitrogen atom. As a result radical anions are generated, inducing the occurrence of side-chain reactions under CID conditions. Almost all of the amino acid esters that were studied show abundant ions that correspond to fragmentation at the alpha carbon either with or without the loss of the alkoxy ester moiety. Distinctive CID spectra were also recorded for leucine and isoleucine complexes. Initial results with short peptides are also shown.     

Out-of-Plane Distortions in Fluorinated Nitrobenzene Radical Anions

According to the data of UHF/INDO calculations of the model conformations of fluorinated nitrobenzene radical anions, rotation of the nitro group relative to the plane of the benzene ring is accompanied by a pyramidal distortion of the group, which is of pseudo-Jahn–Teller nature. The degree of structural distortions depends on the position of the fluorine atoms in the benzene ring and on the solvent, increasing from DMF to DMF–water mixtures. The values of isotropic hyperfine interaction constants are interpreted in the series of fluorinated nitrobenzene radical anions, and the effects of water content in binary mixtures of solvents are discussed.     

Photocatalytic Difunctionalization of Vinyl Ureas by Radical Addition Polar Truce–Smiles Rearrangement Cascades

We report tandem alkyl‐arylations and phosphonyl‐arylations of vinyl ureas by way of a photocatalytic radical‐polar crossover mechanism. Addition of photoredox‐generated radicals to the alkene forms a new C?C or C?P bond and generates a product radical adjacent to the urea function. Reductive termination of the photocatalytic cycle generates an anion that undergoes a polar Truce–Smiles rearrangement, forming a C?C bond. The reaction is successful with a range of α‐fluorinated alkyl sodium sulfinate salts and diarylphosphine oxides as radical precursors, and the conformationally accelerated Truce–Smiles rearrangement is not restricted by the electronic nature of the migrating aromatic ring. Formally the reaction constitutes an α,β‐difuctionalisation of a carbon–carbon double bond, and proceeds under mild conditions with visible light and a readily available organic photocatalyst. The products are α,α‐diaryl alkylureas typically functionalized with F or P substituents that may be readily converted into α,α‐diaryl alkylamines.     

Radical Cation of Pyrazine-di-N-oxide as a Mediator in Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Organic Compounds

The mechanism of oxidation of cyclohexanol, methanol, diethyl ether, triethyl orthoformate, and cyclohexane in the presence of a mediator—electrochemically generated radical cation of pyrazine-di-N-oxide (PyrDNO)—is studied on glassy carbon and platinum in a 0.1 M LiClO₄ solution in acetonitrile employing cyclic voltammetry, ESR electrolysis, and gas chromatography. Effect of temperature, additives of acid and water, oxygen, and the nature of the substrate and solvent on the shape of cyclic voltammograms and intensity of ESR signal of PyrDNO is examined. ESR spectra for radical cations and anions of PyrDNO with g factors equal to, respectively, 2.0090 and 2.0031 are recorded. A mechanism for the overall two-electron catalytic oxidation of an organic substance, which involves a stage in which it complexes with the radical cation of PyrDNO, is suggested.     

Radical Cations and Radical Anions of Three Bridgehead Azopolycycloalkanes: A Fluid-Solution ESR Study

The radical mono-ions of three azoalkanes in which the azo group is connected to the polycyclic alkane moieties at the bridgehead C-atoms, i. e. 1,1′-azonorbornane ( 1 ), 1,1′-azotwistane ( 2 ), and 1,1′-azobi-cyclo[3.2.1]octane ( 3 ), were studied in fluid solution by ESR spectroscopy. According to the ESR parameters and MO models, the radical cations of 1 – 3 should be considered as σ radicals, whereas the corresponding radical anions are π radicals. INDO calculations point to a remarkable dependence of the ^l4N-coupling constants on the geometry at the N-atoms in the radical cations of aliphatic azo compounds.     

Solvation Dependences of Isotropic Hyperfine Interaction Constants and out-of-Plane Distortions of ortho-Substituted Nitrobenzene Radical Anions

For a number of ortho-substituted nitrobenzene radical anions (RAs) generated in DMF and its binary mixtures with water, it is shown that for radical anions with a substituent of minor effective volume in one ortho position to the nitro group, the dependences of the isotropic hyperfine interaction (ihfi) constants on the mole fraction of water are S-like and dictated by the medium composition and the concerted out-of-plane rotational and pyramidal distortions of the nitro group of the radical anion. The S-like shape of the solvation dependences of the ihfi constants is dictated by the dominant rotational distortions of the nitro group. For most radical anions with two ortho substituents or with one ortho substituent with a large effective volume, the S-like dependences are not observed, and the values of the nitrogen ihfi constants depend on the dominant pyramidal distortion of the nitro group. For the 2-tert-butylnitrobenzene radical anion in water, the nitrogen ihfi constant is a_N=25.62 G, which is typical of nitroaliphatic radical anions. This effect is explained based on the pyramidal structure of the nitro group in the case of its large rotation angles.     

Radical Cations and Radical Anions of Three Bridgehead Azopolycycloalkanes: A fluid-solution ESR study

The radical mono-ions of three azoalkanes in which the azo group is connected to the polycyclic alkane moieties at the bridgehead C-atoms, i.e. 1,1′-azonorbornane ( 1 ), 1,1′-azotwistane ( 2 ), and 1,1′-azobicyclo[3.2.1]octane ( 3 ), were studied in fluid solution by ESR spectroscopy. According to the ESR parameters and MO models, the radical cations of 1–3 should be considered as σ radicals, whereas the corresponding radical anions are π radicals. INDO calculations point to a a remarkable dependence of the ¹⁴N-coupling constants on the geometry at the N-atoms in the radical cations of aliphatic azo compounds.     

The Radical Anions of Heptalene and 1, 7-Methano-[12]annulene

The radical anions of heptalene and of 1, 7-methano-[12]annulene are generated by metal reduction and characterized by means of their ESR-spectra. Whereas the neutral hydrocarbons are π-bond localized their corresponding radical anions turn out to be π-bond delocalized. This could be deduced from an interpretation of the different hyperfine splittings using a simple MO-model.     

Photocatalytic Difunctionalization of Vinyl Ureas by Radical Addition Polar Truce–Smiles Rearrangement Cascades

We report tandem alkyl-arylations and phosphonyl-arylations of vinyl ureas by way of a photocatalytic radical-polar crossover mechanism. Addition of photoredox-generated radicals to the alkene forms a new C−C or C−P bond and generates a product radical adjacent to the urea function. Reductive termination of the photocatalytic cycle generates an anion that undergoes a polar Truce–Smiles rearrangement, forming a C−C bond. The reaction is successful with a range of α-fluorinated alkyl sodium sulfinate salts and diarylphosphine oxides as radical precursors, and the conformationally accelerated Truce–Smiles rearrangement is not restricted by the electronic nature of the migrating aromatic ring. Formally the reaction constitutes an α,β-difuctionalisation of a carbon–carbon double bond, and proceeds under mild conditions with visible light and a readily available organic photocatalyst. The products are α,α-diaryl alkylureas typically functionalized with F or P substituents that may be readily converted into α,α-diaryl alkylamines.     

Carbon-halogen Bond Cleavage Energies of Alkyl Halides and Haloalkyl Radical Anions in Solution

Radical anions are intermediates in a variety of processes:dissolving metal reductions, cathodic reductions⁽¹⁾,homogeneous redox reactions, S_RN² reactions⁽²⁾ and nucleophilic substitions⁽³⁾. Several techniques ranging from pulse rediolysis, near-infrared spectroscopy, derivative linear-sweep voltammetry, and electron spin resonance spectroscopy have been employed to study the characteristic properties of the radical anions. The most characteristic property for the radical anions derived from organic halides, in particular, has been known to be the severe weakening of the carbon-halogen bond and consequently the ease of its dissociative cleavage to form halide ion and radical (eq.l) or to form halogen atom and anion (eq.2) as seen in the key step of the S_RN¹ mechanism.     

Radical anions of nitrobenzothiazoles: EPR study of conjugative properties of benzothiazolyl systems

The electrochemical reduction in DMSO of the five isomers of nitrobenzothiazole (NBTZ) gave quite persistent radical anions that could be easily characterised by EPR spectroscopy. By contrast, the chemical reduction in alkaline solution, that is by t-BuOK in DMSO or by glucose and MeOK in MeOH, presented some problems with 6- and 4-NBTZ, and in the case of 2-NBTZ did not provide any detectable paramagnetic species. The internal consistency of coupling constants of the nitrobenzothiazole radical anions is in good agreement with the conjugative properties of the various benzothiazolyl systems and allows rectifying a recent EPR characterisation of 6-NBTZ radical anion.     

Intrinsic barrier for protonation of radical anions

Ab initio calculations on radical anions show that, counterintuitively, protonation on the radicaloid carbon is favored. In the case of radical anions derived from acrylonitrile and acrylaldehyde, protonation on the heteroatom is less favored than protonation on the radicaloid carbon. However, in nitroethylene, the preferred protonation site is on the nitro oxygen in accordance with experimental observation.     

The Radical Ions of Indolizino [6,5,4,3-aij]quinoline and Some of its Derivatives

Indolizino [6,5,4,3-aij]quinoline (1) and its 3,9-dimethyl- (2) , di-tert-butyl- (3) and diphenyl- (4) derivatives yield persistent radical cations which have been studied by ESR and ENDOR spectroscopy. The corresponding radical anions have also been prepared, but only that of 3 was amenable to a complete characterization by hyperfine data. The π-spin populations in the radical anions are essentially localized on the 13-membered C-perimeter, and thus both the HOMO and LUMO of 1 exhibit an ‘annulenyl character’. The radical anions of 1 and 2 have gradually been converted into those of the corresponding 3,4-dihydro derivatives ( 1 -H₂ and 2 -H₂) which have been unambiguously identified by a combination of preparative and spectroscopic methods.