The effects of substituents and solvent polarity oh photochemical [1,3] sigmatropic shifts. Experimental evidence in favour of the occurrence of sudden

Further experimental evidence regarding the occurrence of sudden polarization in acyclic alkenes is presented. It is shown that the yield of formation of the product derived from an intramolecular photochemical [1,3]-OH shift in 1 is dependent only on the polarity of the solvent employed. This result could be well explained in terms of a stabilization of the zwitterionic intermediate formed upon irradiation of 1 by reorientation polarization of the dipole solvent molecules. Besides this, it was found that replacement of the alkyl group at the terminal carbon atom of the C₃–C₉ exocyclic double bond in 1 by a phenyl substituent led to the occurrence of a photochemical [1,3]-H shift. This directive effect of the substituents at the exocyclic double bond could be well explained on the basis of the sudden polarization model.     

An experimental study on the mechanism and stereochemistry of a photochemical [1,3]-oh shift. A non-woodward and hoffmann reaction path for photochemic

An experimental study on the photochemistry of the 4-methyl, 4-ethyl disubstituted 3-alkylidene-2-naphthalenol derivatives 1a,b and 5a,b is presented. It is shown that occurrence of a [1,3]-OH shift is dependent only on the ground-state conformation of the substrate. This conformation in its turn is fixed by the chirality at C₂ and C₄. In case of compounds 1a,b the hydroxyl group Is located in the plane of the exocyclic double bond. Excitation of this favourable conformation results In a 90°-twist of the exocyclic double bond. Due to the interaction between the substituents at C₄ and C₉ preferential formation of just one twisted geometry takes place. The stereochemical outcome of the resulting [1,3]-OH shift agrees well with the one expected in case of a planar shift. Further evidence In favour of the occurrence of a non-Woodward and Hoffmann reaction path is obtained from the Irradiation of 5a,b; despite a favourable ground-state conformation for a suprafacial shift to occur, this shift does not take place. Instead a 90°-twisted intermediate is formed, from which solely a radiationless transition to the ground state is observable. The stereostructure of the photoproducts formed was established by means of low temperature NOE measurements.     

Perchloro-2,5,8-triazaphenalenyl radical

[reaction: see text] The unusually stable perchloro-2,5,8-triazaphenalenyl radical 1 and its twisted dechlorinated dimer 2 were synthesized and characterized by ESR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The X-ray structure of dimer 2 shows that the double bond connecting the two triazaphenalene systems is strongly twisted. Dimer 2 has a dramatic color shift from the solid state to solution, which may be due to a change of the twisting angle between both states.     

Conformations and reactions of bicyclo[3.2.1]oct-6-en-8-ylidene

Bicyclo[3.2.1]oct-6-en-8-ylidene (1) can assume either the conformation of "classical" carbene 1a or that of foiled carbene 1b in which the divalent carbon bends toward the double bond. Oxadiazoline precursors for the generation of 1 were prepared, followed by photochemical and thermal decomposition as well as flash vacuum pyrolysis (FVP) of a tosyl hydrazone sodium salt precursor, to give a number of rearrangement products. Matrix isolation experiments demonstrate the presence of a diazo intermediate and methyl acetate in all photochemical and thermal precursor reactions. The major product from rearrangements of "classical" bridged carbene 1a is bicyclo[3.3.0]octa-1,3-diene as a result of an alkyl shift, while dihydrosemibullvalene formed from a 1,3-C-H insertion. In contrast, thus far unknown strained bicyclo[4.2.0]octa-1,7-diene formed by a vinyl shift in foiled carbene 1b. The experimental results are corroborated by density functional theory (DFT), MP2, and G4 computations.     

Elucidation of the reaction mechanisms and diastereoselectivities of phosphine-catalyzed [4 + 2] annulations between allenoates and ketones or aldimines

The phosphine-catalyzed [4 + 2] annulations between allenoates and electron-poor trifluoromethyl ketones or N-tosylbenzaldimine dipolarophiles have been investigated in continuum solvation using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The detailed reaction mechanisms as well as the high cis-diastereoselectivities of the reactions have been firstly clarified. Our calculated results reveal that the whole catalytic process is presumably initiated with the nucleophilic attack of phosphine catalyst at the allenoate to produce the zwitterionic intermediate , which subsequently undergoes γ-addition to the electron-poor C[double bond, length as m-dash]O (or C[double bond, length as m-dash]N) dipolarophile to form another intermediate . The following [1,3] hydrogen shift of is demonstrated to proceed via two consecutive proton transfer steps without the assistance of protic solvent: the anionic O6 (or N6) of first acts as a base catalyst to abstract a proton from C1 to produce the intermediate , and then the OH (or NH) group can donate the acidic proton to C3 to complete the [1,3] hydrogen shift and generate the intermediate . Finally, the intramolecular Michael-type addition followed by the elimination of catalyst furnishes the final product. High cis-diastereoselectivities are also predicted for both the two reactions, which is in good agreement with the experimental observations. For the reaction of allenoates with trifluoromethyl ketones, the first proton transfer is found to be the diastereoselectivity-determining step. The cumulative effects of the steric repulsion, electrostatic interaction as well as other weak interactions appear to contribute to the relative energies of transition states leading to the diastereomeric products. On the contrary, in the case of N-tosylbenzaldimines, the Michael-type addition is found to be the diastereoselectivity-determining step. Similarly, steric repulsion, as well as electrostatic interaction is also identified to be the dominant factors in controlling the high cis-diastereoselectivity of this reaction.     

Photochemistry of planar E-hexatrienes: an AM1 study

The photochemical formation of an allylcyclopropene derivative from E-hexatriene is studied with the AM1 semiempirical method. Two possible reaction mechanisms, with a differing sequence of [1,2]-hydrogen migration and [1,3]-bond formation, are compared. In this study a new phenomenon emerged: when three bonds of the triene are twisted by 90°, a conical intersection between ground and excited state occurs, through which efficient radiationless decay and product formation can take place. The reaction mechanism in which [1,3]-bond formation is the primary step is the more efficient of the two mechanisms studied, but decay via the conical intersection is somewhat more facile.     

Molecular and crystal structure of 3,3-dimethyl-5-(2-naphthyl)-1-(4-nitrophenyl)-3,5a-dihydro-1H-azireno[1,2-c]imidazole

An X-ray study of 3,3-dimethyl-5-(2-naphthyl)-1-(4-nitrophenyl)-3,5a-dihydro-1H-azireno[1,2-c]imidazole revealed that the pyrazoline cycle has an envelope conformation. The endocyclic C=N double bond is slightly twisted. Quantum chemical calculations showed that this ring conformation is due to intramolecular interactions and is typical for substituted bicyclic aziridines.     

Diastereoselective ring-closing metathesis: synthesis of P-stereogenic phosphinates from prochiral phosphinic acid derivatives

[reaction: see text] The preparation of phosphorus-containing trienes featuring two diastereotopic vinyl moieties followed by a diastereoselective ring-closing metathesis is described. This methodology allowed for the synthesis of novel highly functionalized P-stereogenic heterocycles featuring both an exo- and an endocyclic double bond. An investigation into the factors influencing the diastereochemical outcome of the ring-closing metathesis is also presented, revealing that the geometry of the double bonds conjugated to phosphorus is important and that 1,3-stereoinduction is superior to 1,4-stereoinduction for these reactions.     

A theoretical study on the photochemical reactions of 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.1.1]hex-2-ene

The photochemical reactions of 2,3-diazabicyclo [2.1.1]-hex-2-ene (the 1,3-sigmatropic shift of a bridged carbon atom to give a nitrogen-retained product and the N₂ elimination) are investigated by ab initio MO Cl calculation. The present calculation suggests that a stable intermediate exists at the lowest triplet state in the course of the 1,3-sigmatropic shift. The methylene group of this intermediate can rotate almost freely, which results in the stereochemical randomization of the bridge carbon atom of a nitrogen-retained product. On the other hand, one of the CN of a reactant is broken at the ¹B₂ state with a bent in-plane mode. The other CN bond seission proceeds through the intersystem crossing from the ¹A″ state (which comes from the ¹B₂ state of a reactant) to the ³A′ state (which comes from the ³B₁ state of a reactant) because the ³A′ state has CN bonds with σσ* character. Once the N₂ is eliminated, a product (bicyclo[1.1.0]butane of 1.3-butadiene) is formed easily via 1,3-cyclobutanediyl.     

Time-dependent density functional theory study on hydrogen-bonded intramolecular charge-transfer excited state of 4-dimethylamino-benzonitrile in methanol

The time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) method was carried out to investigate the hydrogen-bonded intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) excited state of 4-dimethylaminobenzonitrile (DMABN) in methanol (MeOH) solvent. We demonstrated that the intermolecular hydrogen bond C[triple bond]N...H-O formed between DMABN and MeOH can induce the C[triple bond]N stretching mode shift to the blue in both the ground state and the twisted intramolecular charge-transfer (TICT) state of DMABN. Therefore, the two components at 2091 and 2109 cm(-1) observed in the time-resolved infrared (TRIR) absorption spectra of DMABN in MeOH solvent were reassigned in this work. The hydrogen-bonded TICT state should correspond to the blue-side component at 2109 cm(-1), whereas not the red-side component at 2091 cm(-1) designated in the previous study. It was also demonstrated that the intermolecular hydrogen bond C[triple bond]N...H-O is significantly strengthened in the TICT state. The intermolecular hydrogen bond strengthening in the TICT state can facilitate the deactivation of the excited state via internal conversion (IC), and thus account for the fluorescence quenching of DMABN in protic solvents. Furthermore, the dynamic equilibrium of these electronically excited states is explained by the hydrogen bond strengthening in the TICT state.     

Photochemische Reaktionen. 52. Mitteilung [1]. Zur Photochemie von α,β-ungesättigten cyclischen Ketonen: Spezifische Reaktionen der n,π*- und π,π*-Triplettzustände von O-Acetyl-testosteron und 10-Methyl-Δ1,9-octalon-(2)

The photochemistry of the conjugated cyclohexenones O-acetyl testosterone ( 1 ) and 10-methyl-Δ^1,9-octalone-(2) ( 24 ) has been investigated in detail. The choice of reaction paths of both ketones depends strongly on the solvent used. In t-butanol, a photostationary equilibrium 1 ? 3 is reached which is depleted solely by the parallel rearrangement 1 → 5 (Chart 1; for earlier results on these reactions see [2a] [6] [7]). In benzene, double bond shift 1 → 16 (Chart 3) occurs instead, which is due to hydrogen abstraction from a ground-state ketone by the oxygen of an excited ketone as the primary photochemical process. In toluene, the major reaction is solvent incorporation ( 1 → 17 , Chart 4) through hydrogen addition to the β-carbon of the enone, accompanied by double bond shift and formation of saturated dihydroketone as the minor reactions. Contrary in part to an earlier report [19], the photochemical transformation of the bicyclic enoné 24 exhibit a similar solvent dependence. The corresponding products 25 – 29 are summarized in Chart 5 and Table 1. Sensitization and quenching experiments established the triplet nature of the above reactions of 1 and 24 . Based on STERN -VOLMER analyses of the quenching data (cf. Figures 2, 4–8, and Table 3), rearrangement, double bond reduction and toluene addition are attributed to one triplet state of the enones which is assigned tentatively as ³(π, π*) state, and the double bond shift is attributed to another triplet assigned as ³(n, π*) state (cf. Figure 9). The stereospecific rearrangement of the 1α-deuterated ketone 2 to the 4β-deuterio isomer 4 shows the reaction to proceed with retention at C-1 and inversion at C-10. The 4-substituted testosterone derivatives 33 – 36 (Chart 8) were found to be much less reactive in general than 1 . In particular, 4-methyl ketone 33 remains essentially unchanged on irradiation in t-butanol, benzene and toluene.     

Conformational analysis of furanose rings with PSEUROT: parametrization for rings possessing the arabino,lyxo, ribo,and xylo stereochemistry and application to arabinofuranosides

The solution conformation of a furanose ring can be assessed through PSEUROT analysis of three-bond (1)H-(1)H coupling constants ((3)J(HH)) of the ring hydrogens. For each coupling constant, PSEUROT requires two parameters, A and B, which are used to translate the H[bond]C[bond]C[bond]H dihedral angle predicted from the (3)J(HH) into an endocyclic torsion angle from which the identity of the conformers can be determined. In this paper, we have used density functional theory methods to generate a family of envelope conformers for methyl furanosides 1-8. From these structures, A and B were calculated for each H[bond]C[bond]C[bond]H fragment. In turn, the values of these parameters for the arabinofuranose ring were used in PSEUROT calculations to determine the conformers populated by monosaccharides 1 and 2 as well as the furanose rings in oligosaccharides 9-15. The results of these analyses are consistent with the low-energy conformers identified from previous computational and X-ray crystallographic studies of 1 and 2.     

Contribution of the intramolecular hydrogen bond to the shift of the pKa value and the oxidation potential of phenols and phenolate anions

Intramolecularly OHO[double bond, length as m-dash]C hydrogen bonded phenols, 2-HO-C6H2-3,5-(t-Bu)2-CONH-t-Bu (1-OH), 2-HO-C6H2-5-t-Bu-1,3-(CONH-t-Bu)2 (2-OH) and 2-HO-C6H2-3,5-(t-Bu)2-NHCO-t-Bu (4-OH), were synthesized and their phenolate anions were prepared as tetraethylammonium salts (-1O-(NEt4+), 2-O-(NEt4+) and 4-O-(NEt4+)) with intramolecular NHO(oxyanion) hydrogen bonds. 4-HO-C(6)H(2)-3,5-t-Bu(2)-CONH-t-Bu (3-OH) and its phenolate anion, 3-O-(NEt4+), were synthesized as non-hydrogen bonded references. The presence of intramolecular hydrogen bonds was established through the crystallographic analysis and/or (1)H NMR spectroscopic results. Intramolecular NHO(phenol) hydrogen bonds shift the pK(a) of the phenol to a more acidic value. The results of cyclic voltammetry show that the intramolecular OH...O=C hydrogen bond negatively shifts the oxidation potential of the phenol. In contrast, the intramolecular NHO(oxyanion) hydrogen bond positively shifts the oxidation potential of the phenolate anion, preventing oxidation. These contributions of the hydrogen bond to the pKa value and the oxidation potentials probably play an important role in the formation of a tyrosyl radical in photosystem II.     

INDO calculations on the sigmatropic [1, 5] H-Shift in 1,3-cyclohexadiene and 1,3,5-cycloheptatriene A homo-cyclopentadienyl transition state model

INDO calculations have been performed for the activated complex of the [1, 5] H.-shift in 1,3-cyclohexadiene and 1,3,5-cycloheptatriene. During the migration in the cyclohexadiene system a homoconjugation was calculated between the carbon atoms C₁ and C₅. For cycloheptatriene it could be demonstrated that one double bond does not participate in the reaction. Activation enthalpies are related to (homo)conjugation in the transition state of the reaction for cyclic conjugated dienes and trienes. The electron density on the migrating hydrogen can be related to the electron affinity of the ring system in the transition state.[/p]     

Computational analyses of singlet-singlet and singlet-triplet transitions in mononuclear gold-capped carbon-rich conjugated complexes

Density functional theory and CASSCF calculations have been used to determine equilibrium geometries and vibrational frequencies of metal-capped one-dimensional pi-conjugated complexes (H3P)Au(C[triple chemical bond]C)(n)(Ph) (n = 1-6), (H3P)Au(C[triple chemical bond]CC6H4)(C[triple chemical bond]CPh), and H3P--Au(C[triple chemical bond]CC6H4)C[triple chemical bond]CAu--PH3 in their ground states and selected low-lying pi(pi)* excited states. Vertical excitation energies for spin-allowed singlet-singlet and spin-forbidden singlet-triplet transitions determined by the time-dependent density functional theory show good agreement with available experimental observations. Calculations indicate that the lowest energy 3(pi(pi)*) excited state is unlikely populated by the direct electronic excitation, while the low-lying singlet and triplet states, slightly higher in energy than the lowest triplet state, are easily accessible by the excitation light used in experiments. A series of radiationless transitions among related excited states yield the lowest 3(pi(pi)*) state, which has enough long lifetimes to exhibit its photochemical reactivities.     

Lewis acid catalyzed carbon-carbon bond cleavage of aryl oxiranyl diketones: synthesis of cis-2,5-disubstituted 1,3-dioxolanes

Carbonyl ylide is one of the most important intermediates which can undergo a series of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions. The C-C heterolysis of oxirane is believed to be the most atom-economic and straightforward way to generate carbonyl ylide. However, this chemistry was only achieved under photochemical and thermal conditions in past years. In this work, the one-step diastereoselective synthesis of cis-2,5-disubstituted 1,3-dioxolanes via [3 + 2] cycloadditions of aldehydes and carbonyl ylide, which is obtained from Lewis acid catalyzed C-C bond heterolysis of aryl oxiranyl diketones at ambient temperature, is described.     

On the nature of the lowest triplet excited state of the [Rh 2(1,3-diisocyanopropane)(4)]2+ ion

The nature of the ground state and the lowest triplet excited state of the [Rh(2)(1,3-diisocyanopropane)(4)](2+) ion have been investigated by the density functional theory. Two locally stable geometrical conformations are found on the potential energy surfaces of both the ground and excited states, corresponding to the eclipsed and twisted conformations, the eclipsed conformation being more stable and having the shorter Rh-Rh bond length. While the Rh-Rh distances of the two conformations differ by approximately 0.4 A, they shorten to the same value upon excitation ( approximately 3.1 A). The excited state originates from the d(z)()()2 (metal antibonding) to p(z)() (ligand-metal bonding) electronic transition. The Mayer Rh-Rh bond order increases from approximately 0.2 to more than 0.8 upon excitation, while the Rh-C(N) bond order shows a slight decrease. A topological bond path between the Rh atoms is found in both the ground and excited states, while the electron localization function (ELF) indicates weak Rh-Rh covalent bonding for the excited state only.