Generation, structure and reactivity of arynes: A theoretical study

The semiempirical AM1 SCF-MO method is used to study the benzyne mechanism for aromatic nucleophilic substitution of various m-substituted chlorobenzenes and 3-chloropyridine. The calculations predict that most of the fixed substituents studied here would induce the formation of 2,3-arynes through their electron-withdrawing resonance or inductive effects. The geometry and electronic structure of the 2,3- and 3,4-arynes investigated here, confirm the generally acceptedo-benzyne structure postulated for arynes. The sites of nucleophilic addition to arynes as predicted here are in fair agreement with expectation and experimental findings.     

Michael addition of malononitrile to indenones: Synthesis and characterization of 2-(1-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-2-yl) (aryl)(methyl)malononitrile derivatives

Indanones 3 were prepared from the reaction of indanone (1) with corresponding benzaldehyde derivatives 2, as described in the literature. Then, indenones 3 were subjected to KOtBu-catalyzed Michael addition with malononitrile to give a mixture of diastereomers 5 with a low conversion and no diastereoselection. Utilization of phase-transfer catalyst such as benzyltriethylammonium chloride or N-benzylcinchonidinium chloride had a positive effect on both conversion and diastereoselection. The structure of diastereomers 5 was determined by spectroscopic methods (NMR, IR).     

A novel catalytic decarbonylative Heck-type reaction and conjugate addition of aldehydes to unsaturated carbonyl compounds

A novel rhodium-catalyzed decarbonylative reaction of aldehydes with unsaturated carbonyl compounds was discovered to generate Heck-type reaction product and conjugate addition product.     

A computational study on addition of Grignard reagents to carbonyl compounds

The mechanism of stereoselective addition of Grignard reagents to carbonyl compounds has been investigated using B3LYP density functional theory calculations. The study of the reaction of methylmagnesium chloride and formaldehyde in dimethyl ether revealed a new reaction path involving carbonyl compound coordination to magnesium atoms in a dimeric Grignard reagent. The structure of the transition state for the addition step shows that an interaction between a vicinal-magnesium bonding alkyl group and C=O causes the C-C bond formation. The simplified mechanism shown by this model is in accord with the aggregation nature of Grignard reagents and their high reactivities toward carbonyl compounds. Concerted and four-centered formation of strong O-Mg and C-C bonds was suggested as a polar mechanism. When the alkyl group is bulky, C-C bond formation is blocked and the Mg-O bond formation takes precedence. A diradical is formed with the odd spins localized on the alkyl group and carbonyl moiety. Diradical formation and its recombination were suggested to be a single electron transfer (SET) process. The criteria for the concerted polar and stepwise SET processes were discussed in terms of precursor geometries and relative energies.     

Regioselectivity and reactivity in the addition of trichloromethyl radicals to amides of unsaturated carboxylic acids

The AM1 method was used to analyze the factors that correlate with regioselectivity in the addition of radicals to 1,2-disubstituted unsaturated compounds. The rate constants of the addition of^.CCl₃ radicals to RCH=CHC(O)X (R = Ph, Me; X = N-pyrrolidyl) were determined by ESR. The analysis of the spin density distribution in mono- and 1,2-disubstituted alkenes and the experimental values for the rate constants of the addition of^.CCl₃ radicals to these alkenes allowed the authors to conclude that the efficiency of the addition of^.CC1₃ to unsaturated compounds depends only on steric effects.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 452–455, March, 1995.     

A theoretical study of some steps in the Wacker process

Some crucial steps of the Wacker process have been studied using the recently suggested PCI-80 (parametrized configuration interaction with parameter 80) scheme. These steps include the hydroxyl anion attack on the coordinated olefin and on the palladium atom, the subsequent-elimination and vinyl-alcohol insertion steps, and the formation of the final acetaldehyde product. It is found that some of these steps are well modeled by a gas phase complex. This is true for the insertion and elimination steps and for some of the relative energies between stable minima. It is even possible to often remove water ligands without severely affecting the chemistry. Some other steps can not be modeled without an explicit account of the polar solvent. For the hydroxyl anion attack the exothermicity is grossly exaggerated without the solvent and for the dissociation of the hydroxyl O-H bond no low-lying transition state was found for the gas phase complex. One important conclusion drawn from these facts is that the final acetaldehyde formation should occur by direct proton abstraction involving the solvent.     

Physical factors determining the activation energy of alkyl radical addition to unsaturated compounds

A parabolic model of the transition state is used for the analysis of experimental data (rate constants and activation energies) for reactions of addition of alkyl and phenyl radicals to multiple bonds of unsaturated compounds. The parameters describing the activation energy as a function of the enthalpy of the reactions were calculated from the experimental data. The activation energy depends also on the strength of the forming C−C bond, the presence of π-bonds in the α-position near the attacked C=C bond and the presence of polar groups in the monomer and radical. The empirical dependence of the activation energy of a thermoneutral addition reactionE _e0 on the dissociation energyD _e of the forming C−C bond was obtained:E _e0=(5.95±0.06)·10⁻⁴ D _e ² kJ mol⁻¹, indicating the important role of triplet repulsion in the formation of the transition state of radical addition. The contribution of the polar interaction to the activation energy of addition of polar radicals to polar monomers was calculated. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 445–450, March, 1999.     

Addition reaction of vinylic reagents, derived from alpha-chloroenones, to carbonyl compounds promoted by samarium diiodide

A new samarium diiodide-promoted addition reaction of vinylsamarium reagents, derived from (Z)-alpha-chloro-alpha,beta-unsaturated phenones 1, to both ketones (in THF) and aldehydes (in acetonitrile) led to (Z)-2-(1-hydroxyalkyl)-2,3-unsaturated ketones in good yield. These transformations took place with total or very high inversion of the stereochemistry of the C-C double bond of the starting chloroenone, producing the Z diastereoisomer. A new methodology to prepare SmI(2) in acetonitrile by sonic treatment of 1,2-diiodoethane with Sm powder is also described. A mechanism to explain this transformation is proposed.     

Direct nucleophilic C-1 addition of stable isochromenylium tetrafluoroborates under catalyst-free conditions:A new access to 1H-isochromenes

Direct additions of the stable isochromenylium tetrafluoroborates (ICTBs) were investigated with a number of readily available nucleophiles 2, yielding a variety of 1H-isochromenes 3 at low or mild temperatures without any catalyst.     

Pentamethylcyclopentadienide in organic synthesis: nucleophilic addition of lithium pentamethylcyclopentadienide to carbonyl compounds and carbon-carbon bond cleavage of the adducts yielding the parent carbonyl compounds

Lithium pentamethylcyclopentadienide (C₅Me₅Li, Cp*Li) reacted with aromatic aldehyde to provide the corresponding carbinol in excellent yield. The carbinol returns to the parent aldehyde and pentamethylcyclopentadiene upon exposure to acid or due to heating. Chlorodimethylaluminum is essential as an additive to attain the nucleophilic addition of Cp*Li to aliphatic aldehyde. The carbinol derived from aliphatic aldehyde returns to the parent aldehyde and pentamethylcyclopentadiene by the action of a catalytic amount of 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyanobenzoquinone (DDQ). The reversible addition/elimination of the Cp* group can represent a protection of aldehyde. Mechanistic details of the carbon-carbon bond cleavage are also disclosed.     

The first ionic liquids promoted conjugate addition of azide ion to α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds

The first, highly efficient conjugate addition of azide ion to α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds promoted by the simple recyclable ionic liquids, bmimPF₆ and bmimBF₄, are described.     

Catalytic conjugate addition of heterocyclic compounds to α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds by hafnium salts and scandium salts

The hafnium chloride (HfCl₄) and scandium chloride (ScCl₃) catalyzed conjugate additions of heterocyclic compounds, such as indoles, pyrrole, pyrazole, and imidazole, have been demonstrated. Hafnium chloride effectively catalyzed the conjugate addition of indoles to α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, and the addition product was obtained in high yield. The reaction of pyrrole was also catalyzed by HfCl₄ or ScCl₃, and produced 2,6-dialkylated pyrroles up to 99% yields. Furthermore, the conjugate addition of the 1-position of the pyrazoles and imidazole occurred, and produced several substituted heterocyclic compounds in good yields.     

Remarkable reactions of cyclooctatetraene diiron-bridging carbyne complexes with amino and amido compounds: nucleophilic addition to and breaking of the cyclooctatetraene ring

The reactions of the cationic, diiron-bridging carbyne complexes [Fe(2)(mu-CAr)(CO)(4)(eta(8)-C(8)H(8))]BF(4) (1, Ar=C(6)H(5); 2, Ar=p-CH(3)C(6)H(4); 3, Ar=p-CF(3)C(6)H(4)) with LiN(C(6)H(5))(2) in THF at low temperature gave novel N-nucleophilic-addition products, namely, the neutral, diiron-bridging carbyne complexes [Fe(2)(mu-CAr)(CO)(4)(eta(7)-C(8)H(8)N(C(6)H(5))(2))] (4, Ar=C(6)H(5); 5, Ar=p-CH(3)C(6)H(4); 6, Ar=p-CF(3)C(6)H(4))). Cationic bridging carbyne complexes 1-3 react with (C(2)H(5))(2)NH, (iC(3)H(7))(2)NH, and (C(6)H(11))(2)NH under the same conditions with ring cleavage of the COT ligand to produce the novel diiron-bridging carbene inner salts [Fe(2)[mu-C(Ar)C(8)H(8)NR(2)](CO)(4)] (7, Ar=C(6)H(5), R=C(2)H(5); 8, Ar=p-CH(3)C(6)H(4), R=C(2)H(5); 9, Ar=p-CF(3)C(6)H(4), R=C(2)H(5); 10, Ar=C(6)H(5), R=iC(3)H(7); 11, Ar=p-CH(3)C(6)H(4), R=iC(3)H(7); 12, Ar=p-CF(3)C(6)H(4), R=iC(3)H(7); 13, Ar=C(6)H(5), R=C(6)H(11); 14, Ar=p-CH(3)C(6)H(4), R=C(6)H(11), 15, Ar=p-CF(3)C(6)H(4), R=C(6)H(11)). Piperidine reacts similarly with cationic carbyne complex 3 to afford the corresponding bridging carbene inner salt [Fe(2)[mu-C(Ar)C(8)H(8)N(CH(2))(5)](CO)(4)] (16). Compound 9 was transformed into a new diiron-bridging carbene inner salt 17, the trans isomer of 9, by heating in benzene. Unexpectedly, the reaction of C(6)H(5)NH(2) with 2 gave a novel COT iron-carbene complex [Fe(2)[=C(C(6)H(4)CH(3)-p)NHC(6)H(5)](mu-CO)(CO)(3)(eta(8)-C(8)H(8))] (18). However, the analogous reactions of 2-naphthylamine with 2 and of p-CF(3)C(6)H(4)NH(2) with 3 produce novel chelated iron-carbene complexes [Fe(2)[=C(C(6)H(4)CH(3)-p)NC(10)H(7)](CO)(4)(eta(2):eta(3):eta(2)-C(8)H(9))] (19) and [Fe(2)[=C(C(6)H(4)CF(3)-p)NC(6)H(4)CF(3)-p](CO)(4)(eta(2):eta(3):eta(2)-C(8)H(9))] (20), respectively. Compound 18 can also be transformed into the analogous chelated iron-carbene complex [Fe(2)[=C(C(6)H(4)CH(3)-p)NC(6)H(5)](CO)(4)(eta(2):eta(3):eta(2)-C(8)H(9))] (21). The structures of complexes 6, 9, 15, 17, 18, and 21 have been established by X-ray diffraction studies.