Structure-activity relationship in the case of intramolecular ortho-cyclization of aromatic nitroso oxides: Inverted steric effect of substituent in the 2-R-C6H4NOO transformation

A systematic theoretical study at the M06L/6-311+G(d, p) level of theory was carried out to calculate the activation barriers ΔH^≠ for the intramolecular ortho-cyclization of aromatic nitroso oxides 2-R-C₆H₄NOO and to reveal the effect of substituent nature and position in the benzene ring on the nitroso oxides reactivity. A set of 24 substituents with widely differing spatial and electronic properties (inductive, resonant, steric effects of R) was studied. The para-substituent was shown to have little effect on the ΔH^≠ value. The full set of effects of the R substituent contributes to the reactivity of ArNOO for 3-substituted aromatic nitroso oxides. In the case of 5-substituted ArNOO the Hammett-type relationship was obtain to describe inductive and resonant effects of R on the ortho-cyclization reactivity. The ortho-cyclization for 2-substituted nitroso oxides is a nontrivial example of the existence of an “inverted” steric effect, when an increase in substituent size accelerates intramolecular transformation. The substituent in position 6 also exhibits an “inverted” steric effect, but it is noticeably weaker than that for 2-R-C₆H₄NOO.     

Influence of the alkene structure on the mechanism and kinetics of thiol–alkene photopolymerizations with real‐time infrared spectroscopy

The effect of the chemical structure on the reactivity of alkenes used in thiol–ene photopolymerizations has been investigated with real‐time infrared spectroscopy. Model studies of thiol–ene photoreactions with various monofunctional hydrocarbon alkenes and the monofunctional thiol ethyl‐3‐mercaptopropionate have been performed to identify and understand structure–reactivity relationships. The results demonstrate that terminal enes react very rapidly with thiol, achieve complete conversion, and are independent of the aliphatic hydrocarbon substituent length. Disubstitution on a single carbon of a terminal ene significantly reduces the reactivity, whereas substitution on the carbon α to the terminal ene has a minimal influence on the reactivity. Internal trans enes display reduced reactivity and a lower overall conversion and deviate from the standard thiol–ene reaction mechanism because of steric strain induced by 1,3‐interactions. The reactivity and conversion of internal trans enes decrease as the substituents on the ene become larger, reaching a minimum when the substituent size is greater than or equal to that of propyl groups. Internal cis enes react rapidly with thiol; however, they undergo a fast isomerization–elimination reaction sequence generating the trans ene, which proceeds to react at a reduced rate with thiol. The reactivity of cyclic enes is dictated by ring strain, stereoelectronic effects, and hydrogen abstractability. The reactivity trends in the model studies have been used to explain the photopolymerization mechanism and kinetics of a series of multifunctional thiol–ene systems. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 6283–6298, 2004     

Intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions of ester-linked 1,3,8-nonatrienes

[structures: see text] Penta-1,3-dienyl acrylates undergo kinetically controlled intramolecular Diels-Alder (IMDA) reactions and DFT calculations (B3LYP/6-31+G(d)) predict stereoselectivities that are in very good agreement with the experimental values. The nature of the diene C1 substituent has virtually no influence upon reactivity or trans/cis-stereoselectivity whereas terminal C9 dienophile substituents have a substantial effect on both the reactivity and stereoselectivity of these IMDA reactions. The TSs highlight contributions from strain in the developing tether-containing ring, and steric and electronic effects between tether and dienophile substituents, thus providing insight into the origins of IMDA reactivity and stereoselectivity.     

Reactivity of homoallylic substituted adamantylideneadamantanes with bromine. Substituent effects on the stability of the ionic and nonionic intermediates

Sterically congested adamantylideneadamantanes (1b-g) (X = Br, Cl, F, OH, OEt, OCOCH(3)), homoallylically substituted with equatorial groups (X), react with bromine in 1,2-dichloroethane to give a stable bromonium ion intermediate or a substitution product depending on the nature of the substituent and on the bromine concentration. The nature of the substituent markedly affects the formation constant of the 1:1 pi-complexes, as well as of the formation constant and reactivity of bromonium ion intermediates. The different reactivity of the ionic intermediates, which depends on the nature of substituents, is attributed to bromonium or bromocarbenium character of the intermediate, with the support of theoretical investigations. Ab initio calculations on 1:1 adamatylideneadamantane-Br(2) complexes (2a-f) show that the substituent affects the stability of these species through electrostatic and dispersion effects. Solvent effects may also contribute to modulate the relative stability of these species.     

Theoretical studies on the hydrogen atom transfer reaction

The hydrogen atom transfer reaction between substituted methanes (substituents; H, F, CH₃, OH, and CN) and methyl radicals was studied by 4-31G (UHF) calculations using the MINDO/3 geometries. The transition state structures and energy barriers were determined, and variations of the transition state and of the reactivity due to the change of substituent were analyzed based on the potential energy surface characteristics. It was concluded that the reaction is of the S_H2 type with a backside attack, and transition state variations are controlled by the vector sum of the component parallel to (Hammond rule) and one perpendicular to the reaction coordinate (anti-Hammond rule). It was also concluded that the most important factor influencing the reactivity is bond dissociation energy effect directly related to the spin transfer of the radical species, and the polar effect need not be overemphasized.     

Basicity and solvent effects on hydrogen bonding in NR3···HCOOH (R=H,CH3) model systems

The effect of the basicity of methyl‐amines on hydrogen bonding (HB) with HCOOH is examined in both gas and solution phases. In the gas phase, the strength of HB may be related to the proton affinity (PA) difference between the carboxylate anion and the methyl‐amine, ΔPA=PA(HCOO⁻)−PA(NR₃). The changes in the driving potential ΔPA are explained on the basis of electronic substituent effects. The electronic substituent effects are rationalized in terms of local reactivity indices such as the Fukui function and the local hardness and softness at the basic center. A simple model is then proposed to explain the enhancement HB in the solution phase. The HB pattern in the solution phase is changed by electrostatic and nonelectrostatic solvation of the zwitterionic and neutral species in equilibrium. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 74: 387–394, 1999