Comparison between electron transfer and nucleophilic reactivities of ketene silyl acetals with cationic electrophiles

The products and kinetics for the reactions of ketone silyl acetals with a series of p-methoxy-substituted trityl cations have been examined, and they are compared with those of outer-sphere electron transfer reactions from 10,10'-dimethyl-9,9', 10, 10'- tetrahydro-9,9'-biacridine [(AcrH)2] to the same series of trityl cations as well as other electron acceptors. The C-C bond formation in the reaction of beta,beta-dimethyl-substituted ketene silyl acetal (1: (Me2C=C(OMe)OSiMe3) with trityl cation salt (Ph3C+ClO4-) takes place between 1 and the carbon of para-positon of phenyl group of Ph3C+, whereas a much less sterically hindered ketene silyl acetal (3: H2C=C(OEt)OSiEt3) reacts with Ph3C+ at the central carbon of Ph3C+. The kinetic comparison indicates that the nucleophilic reactivities of ketene silyl acetals are well correlated with the electron transfer reactivities provided that the steric demand at the reaction center for the C-C bond formation remains constant.     

Role of electron transfer in reactions involving substitution of halogen in 2-halo-5-nitrofurans

The replacement of the halogen in 2-halo-5-nitrofurans (Hal=C1, Br, I) in dimethylformamide (DMF) under the influence of tetra-n-butylammonium hydroxide to give 2-hydroxy-5-nitrofuran salts was studied. The intermediate anion radicals of the halonitrofurans were recorded by EPR spectroscopy; bromo- and iodonitrofurans can give 5,5-dinitro-2,2-difuryl anion radicals under the influence of Bu₄NOH. The polarographic reduction of halonitrofurans in the presence of hydrogen peroxide also leads to 2-hydroxy-5-nitrofuran. A mechanism for the transformation is proposed.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 12, pp. 1604–1607, December, 1979Original article submitted March 17, 1977; revision submitted October 30, 1978.     

Intrinsic reaction parameters for electron transfer from aromatic radical anions to vicinal dibromoalkanes in alkane solutions

In diffusion-assisted bimolecular reactions, the elementary reaction mechanism is typically difficult to study, because the kinetics of the intrinsic reaction is masked by the diffusive motion of the reactants. One of the possible experimental approaches to solve the problem is the precise determination of the effective reaction radii, R = k/(4πD(S)), where k is the stationary value of the reaction rate constant and D(S) is the sum of the diffusion coefficients of the reactants involved. In this work, this approach has been applied to study the reaction between radical anions of aromatic compounds (diphenylacetylene and diphenylsilane) and vicinal dibromoalkanes (1,2-dibromoethane and trans-1,2-dibromocyclohexane) in liquid alkanes. The reaction rates were determined using the effect that the bromoalkanes exert on the decay kinetics of the fluorescence from the irradiated solutions of the aromatics. The effect of the external electric field on the fluorescence decays was exploited to measure aromatic radical ion mobilities. Diffusion coefficients of the bromoalkane molecules were determined by means of the thermal diffusion forced Rayleigh scattering technique. The experimental radii obtained in the temperature range of 273-333 K were compared with those calculated from the diffusion equation with a distance-dependent relative diffusion coefficient and electron-transfer rate. The most important factors that have been taken into account are (i) the ion-dipole interaction between the reagents, (ii) the shift of the equilibrium between rotational isomers of dibromoalkanes in the electric field of its charged partner, and (iii) the hydrodynamic interaction. The study shows that the apparent activation energy of the intrinsic electron-transfer rate from the anions to the dibromoalkanes does not exceed a few kilocalories per mole, in agreement with the results of quantum chemical calculations within the DFT approach. The evaluated electron-transfer rates at the reagents' contact (intrinsic rate) were estimated to be on the order 5 × 10(11) s(-1), corresponding to transfer matrix elements of about 30-50 cm(-1).     

Pd-catalyzed C-h fluorination with nucleophilic fluoride

The palladium-catalyzed C-H fluorination of 8-methylquinoline derivatives with nucleophilic fluoride is reported. This transformation involves the use of AgF as the fluoride source in combination with a hypervalent iodine oxidant. Both the scope and mechanism of the reaction are discussed.     

Reaction of electron rich heterocycles with electrophiles. Formylation of indoles via thiomethylation

The formylation of indoles 1 by dithiocarbenium-ions 2 is discussed. The reaction proceeds to thioacetals 4 under mild conditions. Longer reaction times yield bisindolylmonomethylcyanines 5–6 . Generally, the reaction is inhibited by the presence of electron-withdrawing groups at the pyrrol nucleus of indole 1 , e.g. an acetyl group.     

Matrix-block negative-factor-counting treatment of electron correlation in long alkane chains

Ab initio matrix-block negative-factor-counting calculations including electron correlation effects at the quasi-particle level have been performed on long linear alkane chains. Explicit results are given for C₃₆H₇₄, C₇₂H₁₄₆ and C₆₀₀H₁₂₀₂. It was found that the band edges in the photoelectron spectra for the CC and CH regions are already converged for these oligomers. On the other hand, band-shape formation inside the CH-regions is not yet complete for C₃₆H₇₄ from the theoretical point of view.     

Reductive halogen elimination from phenols by organic radicals in aqueous solutions; chain reaction induced by proton-coupled electron transfer

Gamma-radiolysis and measurements of halide ions by means of ion chromatography have been employed to investigate reductive dehalogenation of chloro-, bromo-, and iodophenols by carbon-centered radicals, *CH(CH(3))OH, *CH(2)OH, and *CO(2)-, in oxygen-free aqueous solutions in the presence of ethanol, methanol, or sodium formate. While the reactions of 4-IC(6)H(4)OH with *CH(CH(3))OH and *CH(2)OH radicals are endothermic in water/alcohol solutions, the addition of bicarbonate leads to iodide production in high yields, indicative of a chain reaction. The maximum effect has been observed with about 10 mM sodium bicarbonate present. The complex formed from an alpha-hydroxyalkyl radical and a bicarbonate anion is considered to cause the enhancement of the reduction power of the former to the extent at which the reduction of the iodophenol molecule becomes exothermic. No such effect has been observed with phosphate, which is a buffer with higher proton affinity, when added in the concentration of up to 20 mM at pH 7. This indicates that one-electron reduction reactions by alpha-hydroxyalkyl radicals occur by the concerted proton-coupled electron transfer, PCET, and not by a two-step ET/PT or PT/ET mechanisms. The reason for the negative results with phosphate buffer could be thus ascribed to a less stable complex or to the formation of a complex with a less suitable structure for an adequate support to reduce iodophenol. The reduction power of the carbonate radical anion is shown to be high enough to reduce iodophenols by a one-electron-transfer mechanism. In the presence of formate ions as H-atom donors, the dehalogenation also occurs by a chain reaction. In all systems, the chain lengths depend on the rate of reducing radical reproduction in the propagation step, that is, on the rate of H-atom abstraction from methanol, ethanol, or formate by 4-*C(6)H(4)OH radicals liberated after iodophenol dehalogenation. The rate constants of those reactions were determined from the iodide yield measurements at a constant irradiation dose rate. They were estimated to be 6 M(-1)(s-1) for methanol, 140 M(-1)(s-1) for ethanol, and 2100 M(-1)(s-1) for formate. Neither of the tested reducing C-centered radicals was able to dehalogenate the bromo or chloro derivative of phenol.     

Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy of alkane monolayers with dissimilar attachment chemistry to gold

We compare the low-temperature electron transport properties of alkyl monolayers which utilize different attachment strategies to gold. Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS) and current-voltage analysis were performed on molecular junctions incorporating alkyl-dithiocarbamate and alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayers of similar length. Alkyl-dithiocarbamate monolayers were formed by the condensation of dioctylamine or didecylamine with carbon disulfide in anhydrous ethanol and compared to alkanethiolate SAMs of 1-decanethiol and 1-dodecanethiol, respectively. The electron transport properties of each monolayer were examined using magnetically assembled microsphere junctions under high-vacuum conditions at low temperature. IETS was employed to differentiate the films on the basis of vibrational modes which are characteristic of each method of attachment. We use quantum chemical simulations of model compounds to calculate frequency and intensity of predicted signals arising from molecular vibrations to aid in the accurate assignment of the spectra. A qualitative comparison of our devices also reveals an increase in current density when utilizing dithiocarbamate attachment to gold compared to alkanethiolate molecules of similar length.     

Effect of external magnetic fields on electron transfer and ion pairing dynamics at ferrocenyl alkane thiol SAM/solution interfaces

The redox behavior of ferrocene alkane thiol self assembled monolayer modified electrodes in contact with aqueous perchlorate solutions both in the absence of and in the presence of an external magnetic field is examined using both electrochemical and gravimetric techniques The redox switching process involves an ET reaction involving the ferrocene/ferricinium redox transition coupled with an ion pairing step involving perchlorate ion. The voltammetric response recorded in the latter medium is irreversibly affected by the imposition of a static magnetic field of magnitude 0.5 T applied in a direction parallel to the electrode surface. The magnetic field dependence of the redox behavior is attributed to structural changes in the monolayer arising from double layer effects involving changes in the spatial distribution of perchlorate counterions at the monolayer/solution interface, brought about by local convective stirring arising from the B field generated magnetohydrodynamic Lorenz body force.     

Reactions of azepinones with electrophiles

Azepinones are available via a one-pot cycloaddition-ring expansion reaction sequence in good yield. The reactions of azepinones with alkyl halides and epoxides were studied. We report herein protocols for the alkylation of azepinones at nitrogen with alkyl halides and epoxides and the isomerizations that occur in the presence of a base. We also report an unexpected ring contraction under oxidative conditions.     

Selective alkane C-H-bond functionalizations utilizing oxidative single-electron transfer and organocatalysis

Alkane C-H-bond functionalization methods not utilizing metal-catalysis are discussed based on experimental and computational data, beginning with molecule-induced homolysis (reactions of alkanes with dioxiranes). Electrophilic reactions are elaborated next with an emphasis on mechanistic details that reveal that many so-called electrophilic C-H or C-C-bond insertions can be rationalized by electron-transfer reactions (inner sphere, H-coupled, and outer sphere). Finally, radical functionalizations utilizing carbon-centered (relatively stable) radicals generated under organocatalytic (phase-transfer catalysis, PTC) conditions are presented as valuable alternatives to other radical-chain alkane functionalizations. The remarkable chemo- and regioselectivities of these PTC radical reactions and the tolerance of high strain in certain aliphatic hydrocarbons make them particularly useful for laboratory-scale halogenations, in particular, iodinations of unactivated alkane C-H-bonds.     

Charge transfer reactions in alkane and cycloalkane systems. Estimated ionization potentials

Rate constants of change transfer reactions k_CT, involving C₃? C₉ alkanes and cycloalkanes, have been determined in an ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. The rate constants are significantly lower than the corresponding rate constants for collision when the reaction is less than about 0.5 eV exothermic for linear alkane ions, or less than about 0.2 eV exothermic for cycloalkane ions. In this region of low reaction efficiency, the efficiency of reaction with linear or branched alkanes seems to depend primarily on reaction exothermicity. (The efficiencies of reaction of a given ion with cyclic alkanes also depend on ΔH_rn, but are higher than for reactions with other compounds). Although the lowered reaction efficiencies probably result, at least in part, from unfavorable Franck–Condon factors in the energy range near the ionization onset, quantitative correlations between reaction efficiency and estimated relative Franck–Condon factors were not observed. When the enthalpy of reaction is small (less than about ?0.15 eV), it is seen that the reverse charge transfer can also occur, and equilibrium is established under the conditions of these experiments. From the observed equilibrium constants, values for the standard free energy change are derived, and assuming that ΔS is small for electron transfer equilibria, values of ΔH_rn are estimated. In the case of the equilibria involving cyclohexane ion, these values of ΔH_rn lead to estimates of the ionization potentials of methylcyclopentane, 3-methylpentane, n-octane, 2,2-dimethylbutane, and 2,3-dimethylbutane, which are lower than the ionization potentials of cyclohexane, that is, <9.88 eV, although all these compounds had previously been reported to have ionization potentials above 10.03 eV. That the ionization potentials are indeed lower than 10.03 eV is confirmed by determining the quantum yields of ionization with 10.03-eV photons. It is pointed out that the conclusions reached here apparently also apply to the charge transfer reactions of alkane ions in the liquid phase.     

Reactions of polychlorophenyllithium compounds with electrophiles

Polychloroaromatic compounds lithiated by BuⁿLi in THF react with several electrophilic agents of which aldehydes and epoxides seem to be the most promising from the preparative point of view. Dedicated to Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences E. P. Serebryakov on the occasion of his 70th birthday. __________ Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 941–946, April, 2005.     

Mediated electron transfer with P450cin

P450cin stereoselectively hydroxylated its natural substrate 1,8-cineole to 2β-hydroxy-1,8-cineole in an electrochemical cell which allowed for substitution of the natural cofactor NADPH by artificial redox mediators. Cobalt sepulchrate, phenosafranine, safranine T, FAD and FMN enabled artificial electron transfer from the platinum electrode to P450cin via the redox partner protein cindoxin. The highest product formation, 6.50 ± 0.60 nmol (product) nmol (P450)^?1 min^?1 cm^?2, was achieved using cobalt sepulchrate. Surprisingly, phenosafranine and safranine T enabled electron transfer even in the absence of NADPH, cindoxin, and cindoxin reductase, thereby illustrating that none of the natural redox partners is needed for product formation.     

Reactions with electron transfer to N-acylheteroaromatic cations

The behavior of some benzoquinolines and imidazoles in reactions with acylating agents in the presence of zinc dust was investigated. The possibility of free-radical hetarylation under these conditions of organic compounds by the intermediately formed N-acylheteroaromatic radicals was established. The structure of 2,2-diacetyl-1,1,2,2-tetrahydro-1,1-diisoquinolyl was determined by means of x-ray diffraction analysis.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 229–237, February, 1977.     

Atom transfer cyclization catalyzed by InCl3 via halogen activation

[reaction: see text] Indium trichloride was found to be an efficient catalyst for the cyclization of allylic halides and alkynes with atom transfer in methylene chloride. Mechanistic evidence supports a cationic reaction pathway with Lewis acid activation of the allylic halogen. Concomitant nucleophilic attack by the alkyne and trapping with halide led to atom transfer cyclization products. Depending on alkyne substitution, a bromine atom was transferred from the substrate or a chlorine atom was transferred from the solvent.     

Coherence in electron transfer pathways

Central to the view of electron-transfer reactions is the idea that nuclear motion generates a transition state geometry at which the electron/hole amplitude propagates coherently from the electron donor to the electron acceptor. In the weakly coupled or nonadiabatic regime, the electron amplitude tunnels through an electronic barrier between the donor and acceptor. The structure of the barrier is determined by the covalent and noncovalent interactions of the bridge. Because the tunneling barrier depends on the nuclear coordinates of the reactants (and on the surrounding medium), the tunneling barrier is highly anisotropic, and it is useful to identify particular routes, or pathways, along which the transmission amplitude propagates. Moreover, when more than one such pathway exists, and the paths give rise to comparable transmission amplitude magnitudes, one may expect to observe quantum interferences among pathways if the propagation remains coherent. Given that the effective tunneling barrier height and width are affected by the nuclear positions, the modulation of the nuclear coordinates will lead to a modulation of the tunneling barrier and hence of the electron flow. For long distance electron transfer in biological and biomimetic systems, nuclear fluctuations, arising from flexible protein moieties and mobile water bridges, can become quite significant. We discuss experimental and theoretical results that explore the quantum interferences among coupling pathways in electron-transfer kinetics; we emphasize recent data and theories associated with the signatures of chirality and inelastic processes, which are manifested in the tunneling pathway coherence (or absence of coherence).