Radical reactions of epoxy esters induced by titanocene chloride

The reductive radical cyclizations of several epoxy esters have been achieved using titanocene chloride. The tether length from the initial radical to the carbonyl acceptor is the key of the reactions. We obtained products from radical cyclization onto carbonyl formate and products from formate and hydrogen elimination. The stereochemical outcome of the 5-exo radical cyclization of two diastereomers is reported. A radical cascade cyclization of an unsaturated epoxy formate is also described.     

Stereospecific synthesis of polyfunctionalized carbacephams induced by titanocene(III) chloride

Enantiomerically pure N-substituted epoxyalkene-2-azetidinones reacted with titanocene monochloride to give stereospecifically polyfunctionalized bicyclic beta-lactams. Four isomeric epoxyaldehydes 2 reacted with TiCp2Cl to give exclusively the respective carbacephams 7 while under the same reaction conditions the epoxyesters 1, which are more hindered for an intramolecular addition, gave the cyclization products 6 (only two isomers) and/or the elimination products 5 (all isomers).     

Low temperature kinetics of unstable radical reactions

Recent advances in Earth and satellite based observations of molecules in interstellar environments and in planetary atmospheres have highlighted the lack of information regarding many important gas-phase formation mechanisms involving neutral species at low temperatures. Whilst significant progress has been made towards a better understanding of radical-molecule reactions in these regions, the inherent difficulties involved in the investigation of reactions between two unstable radical species have hindered progress in this area. This perspective article provides a brief review of the most common techniques applied to study radical-radical reactions below room temperature, before outlining the developments in our laboratory that have allowed us to extend such measurements to temperatures relevant to astrochemical environments. These developments will be discussed with particular emphasis on our recent investigations of the reactions of atomic nitrogen with diatomic radicals.     

Unprecedented Barbier-type reactions catalysed by titanocene(III)

Selective Barbier-type allylations, benzylations and propargylations of aldehydes and ketones can be carried out under extremely mild conditions employing titanocene(III) complexes as catalysts. In this way, chiral titanocene catalysts provided yields ranging from 50-80% of optically active products.     

Regio- and diastereoselective reductive coupling of vinylepoxides catalyzed by titanocene chloride

[reaction: see text] The Ti(III)-catalyzed reaction of a series of vinylepoxides leads, with regio- and E-diastereoselectivity control, to good-to-excellent yields of the corresponding homocoupling products. This homocoupling reaction, which involves a new C-C bond-forming method, takes place via a S(N)2' process between an allyltitanium species and the starting vinylepoxide. The process can be used for the rapid and efficient formation of highly valuable intermediates for organic synthesis, as well as new interesting homologues of natural products.     

Redox reactions of coenzymes induced by γ-irradiated sodium chloride

A spectrophotometric study is reported of the oxido-reductant reactions with the major coenzymes as NADH, NADPH, NAD⁺, NADP⁺ and FAD effected by low dose and by the energy stored in F and hole centres in -irradiated sodium chloride. The G values for the two modes of these redox reactions are compared.     

Electron transfer reactions. Reactions of epoxyketones and benzoylaziridines with potassium

The results of our studies on the reaction of some epoxyketones and aziridines with potassium in tetrahydrofuran (THF) are presented. Treatment of trans-l,3-diphenyl-2,3-epozypropan-1-one (1a.) with, potassium, for example, gives a mixture of acetophenone (9), the chalcone 4a, the dihydrochalcone 14a, the cyclopentene isomers 20a and 21a, the hydroxy acid 10a and benzoic acid 6, whereas the reaction of 1a with potassium, under oxygen saturation, gives a mixture of 4a, 14a, 6, the diketone 17a, the dihydroxycarboxylic acid 7a and the hydroxyfuranone 19a. The reaction of 1a. with potassium superoxide, however gives a mixture of 6, 7a and 19a. Similar results are obtained in the reaction of trans-2,3-epoxy-1-phenyl-3-p-tolylpropan-1-one 1b with potassuum. The reaction of 7-oxa-2,3-dibenzoylbtcyclo[2 2 1]hepta-2,5-diene (22a) with potassium gives a mixture of 6 and o-dibenzoylbenzene (26a), whereas 2,3-dibenzoyl-1,4-dihydro-1,4-diphenyl-1,4-epoxynaphthalene (22b), under analogous conditions, gives a mixture of 6, 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran (25b), 26a, 2,3-dibenzoyl-1,4-diphenylnapntnelene (26b) and 2-benzoyl-1,4-dtphenylnaphthalene (27b). Treatment of the benzoylaztridines 28a-d with potassium gives the stilbenes, 33a,c, the hydroxy amides, 34,a,c,d, and carboxylic acids 6, 11b, whereas the aziridine 35, on treatment with potassium, gives a mixture of the isoquinoline 37 and the phthalimidine 39. Cyclic voltammetric and pulse radiolysis studies have been carried out, in an attempt to characterize the radical anion intermediates involved in these reactions. Document No. NDRL-3120 from the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory and No. RRLT-PRU-5 from the Regional Research Laboratory Trivandrum.     

Free radical-promoted conjugate addition of activated bromo compounds using titanocene(III) chloride as the radical initiator

Free radical-promoted conjugate addition of activated bromo compounds to α,β-unsaturated ketones and reactive α,β-unsaturated esters has been described using titanocene(III) chloride (Cp₂TiCl) as the radical initiator. Cp₂TiCl was prepared in situ from commercially available Cp₂TiCl₂ and activated zinc dust in THF.     

The kinetics of hydroxyl radical reactions with cyclopropane and cyclobutane

A laser flash photolysis/resonance fluorescence investigation has been carried out to study the kinetics of the overall reactions OH + cyclopropane (1) and OH + cyclobutane (2) in the temperature range 298–490 K and at 298 K, respectively. The following kinetic parameters have been determined: k₁ =(3.9 ±0.6) 10⁻¹²exp- (2.2 ± 0.1)kcal mol⁻¹/RT molecule⁻¹cm³s⁻¹, k₂(298 K) = (17.5 ± 1.5)10⁻¹³molecule⁻¹ cm³s⁻¹.     

Kinetics and mechanism of peroxyl radical reactions with nitroxides

Cyclic nitroxides (>NO*) are stable radicals of diverse size, charge, lipophilicility, and cell permeability, which provide protection against oxidative stress via various mechanisms including SOD-mimic activity, oxidation of reduced transition metals and detoxification of oxygen- and nitrogen-centered radicals. However, there is no agreement regarding the reaction of nitroxides with peroxyl radicals, and many controversies in the literature exist. The question of whether nitroxides can protect by scavenging peroxyl radicals is important because peroxyl radicals are formed in biological systems. To further elucidate the mechanism(s) underlying the antioxidative effects of nitroxides, we studied by pulse radiolysis the reaction kinetics of piperidine, pyrrolidine, and oxazolidine nitroxides with several alkyl peroxyl radicals. It is demonstrated that nitroxides mainly reduce alkyl peroxyl radicals forming the respective oxoammonium cations (>N+=O). The most efficient scavenger of peroxyl radicals is 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl (TPO), which has the lowest oxidation potential among the nitroxides tested in the present study. The rate constants of peroxyl reduction are in the order CH2(OH)OO*>CH3OO*>t-BuOO*, which correlate with the oxidation potential of these peroxyl radicals. The rate constants for TPO vary between 2.8x10(7) and 1.0x10(8) M-1 s-1 and for 3-carbamoylproxyl (3-CP) between 8.1x10(5) and 9.0x10(6) M-1 s-1. The efficacy of protection of nitroxides against inactivation of glucose oxidase caused by peroxyl radicals was studied. The results demonstrate a clear correlation between the kinetic features of the nitroxides and their ability to inhibit biological damage inflicted by peroxyl radicals.     

The kinetics of the gas phase decomposition reactions of the hexafluoro-t-butoxy radical

Hexafluoro-t-butoxy radicals have been generated by reacting fluorine with hexafluoro-2-methyl isopropanol: Over the temperature range of 406–600 K the hexafluoro-t-butoxy radical decomposes exclusively by loss of a CF₃ radical [reaction (-2)] rather than by loss of a CH₃ radical [reaction (-1)]: (1) The limits of detectability of the product CF₃COCF₃, by gas-chromatographic analysis, place a lower limit on the ratio k_?2/k_-1 of ～80. The implications of this finding in relation to the reverse radical addition reactions to the carbonyl group are briefly discussed. A thermochemical kinetic calculation reveals a discrepancy in the kinetics and thermodynamics of the decomposition and formation reactions of the related t-butoxy radical:      

A regiospecific double bond shift induced by titanocene catalysts

cis-Bicyclo(4.3.0)-3,7-nonadiene is isomerized by titanocene-derived catalysts to bicyclo(4.3.0)-2,9-nonadiene.     

On the mechanism of reactions of oncogenic n-acyloxypurines—III : Extent of radical participation

UV irradiation of a model “activated ester” of the oncogen 3-hydroxyxanthine induced homolytic cleavage of the N-O bond and gave products arising by reduction of as well as by recombination of the solvent caged amidyl radical intermediate. Identification of the latter product constitutes the first evidence that a distinct product associated specifically with a radical from an acyloxypurine can be formed. The absence of this product among those formed spontaneously from 3-acetoxyxanthine provides the first indication that an amidyl radical is not an intermediate in the spontaneous reactions of N-acyloxy purines.     

The two-parameter taft equation in kinetics of free radical reactions

A new method was developed for the calculation of the resonance substituent constants of the two-parameter Taft equation log k_sub/k₀=ρ*σ*+r*σ^r. It is based on a relationship between the spin density in free radicals and the rate constants of radical substitution reactions of CH₃. Possibilities and limitations of the application of this correlation equation to the investigation of substitution and addition radical reactions are discussed.     

Theoretical investigation on the mechanism and kinetics of OH radical with ethylbenzene

The OH hydrogen abstraction and addition with ethylbenzene have been studied in the range 298–1000 K using quantum chemistry methods. The geometries and frequencies of the reactants, transition states, and products were performed at BH and HLYP/6‐311++G(d,p) level, single point calculation for all the stationary points were carried out at CCSD(T) calculations of the optimized structures with the same basis set. Nine different reaction paths are considered corresponding to two side chain, three possible ring hydrogen abstraction, and four kinds different OH addition. The results of the theoretical study indicate that at the room temperature the reaction proceeds almost exclusively through OH addition, and is predicted to occur dominantly at the ortho position, the calculated overall rate constant is 6.72 × 10^?12 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1, showing a very good agreement with available experimental data. Although negligible at low temperature, at 1000 K ring hydrogen abstraction accounts for about 32% of the total abstraction reaction, and the whole hydrogen abstraction makes up for 30% of the total reaction. This study may provide useful information on understanding the mechanistic features of OH‐initiated oxidation of ethylbenzene. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Comparative study of kinetics and reactivity indices of free radical polymerization reactions

Density functional theory calculations are used to determine the kinetics and reactivity indices of the first propagation steps of the polyethylene and poly(vinyl chloride) polymerization. Transition state theory is applied to evaluate the rate coefficient from the microscopically determined energies and partition functions. A comparison with the experimental Arrhenius plots validates the level of theory. The ability of reactivity indices to predict certain aspects of the studied propagation reactions is tested. Global softnesses of the reactants give an indication of the relative energy barriers of subsequent monomer additions. The correlation between energy and hardness profiles along the reaction path confirm the principle of maximum hardness. Local indices predict the regioselectivity of the attack of the growing radical to vinyl chloride. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005