An experimental and theoretical study of the type C enone rearrangement: mechanistic and exploratory organic photochemistry

We recently described a new photochemical rearrangement which we termed a Type C process. The reaction involves a delta to alpha aryl migration in 5-disubstituted cyclohexenones also having bulky C-3 substituents. In contrast to most cyclohexenone rearrangements, the reaction occurs via a twisted pi-pi excited triplet rather than the usual n-pi state. The electronic nature of the rearrangement was assessed using migration selectivity with p-anisyl and p-cyanophenyl groups. A synthesis of the reactants was elaborated, and the product structures were established by X-ray and NMR analysis. The reaction mechanism was established further with DFT and CASSCF computations. In the latter, localized NBO basis orbitals permitted proper selection of the active space. The nature of the diradical intermediates as well as the transition states was established computationally. Sensitization experiments with regioselectivities the same as those in direct irradiation confirmed the triplet multiplicity of the process.     

Photoinduced hydrogen atom abstraction in N-(adamantyl)phthalimides: structure-reactivity study in the solid state

Adamantyl-functionalized phthalimides were synthesized and the probability of intramolecular photochemical hydrogen atom abstraction in the solid state analyzed by X-ray crystallographic analyses. These analyses and solid-state photolyses showed that the parameters determining photochemical reactivity for typical carbonyl compounds in the solid state can also be extended to phthalimides. Only N-(2-adamantyl)phthalimide underwent a solid-state photochemical reaction, which is the first example in the phthalimide series. This reaction is regio- and stereoselective, resulting in an endo-alcohol. On the other hand, the photoreaction of N-(2-adamantyl)phthalimide in solution gives an exo-alcohol as the main product together with an endo-alcohol and a benzazepindione.     

The development of a facile tandem Wolff/Cope rearrangement for the synthesis of fused carbocyclic skeletons

A set of mild processes for the conversion of vinyl cyclopropyl diazo ketones to highly functionalized cycloheptadienones and vinyl cyclopentenones by use of a target-inspired tandem Wolff/Cope rearrangement sequence is described. A divergent reaction course of the vinyl cyclopropyl diazo ketone substrates under sono- or photochemical activation provides good to excellent yields (55-98%) of the product cycloheptadienones and vinyl cyclopentenones.     

Formation of a Tunneling Product in the Photorearrangement of o‐Nitrobenzaldehyde

The photochemical rearrangement of o ‐nitrobenzaldehyde to o ‐nitrosobenzoic acid, first reported in 1901, has been shown to proceed via a distinct ketene intermediate. In the course of matrix isolation experiments in various host materials at temperatures as low as 3 K, the ketene was re‐investigated in its electronic and vibrational ground states. It was shown that hitherto unreported H‐tunneling dominates its reactivity, with half‐lives of a few minutes. Unexpectedly, the tunneling product is different from o ‐nitrosobenzoic acid formed in the photoprocess: Once prepared by irradiation, the ketene spontaneously rearranges to an isoxazolone via an intriguing mechanism initiated by H‐tunneling. CCSD(T)/cc‐pVTZ computations reveal that this isoxazolone is neither thermodynamically nor kinetically favored under the experimental conditions, and that formation of this unique tunneling product constitutes a remarkable and new example of tunneling control.     

Alkali ion exchanged Nafion as a confining medium for photochemical reactions

Methanol-swollen Nafion beads were used as microreactors to control the photochemical reaction pathways. Product selectivity in three unimolecular reactions, namely, the photo-Fries rearrangement of naphthyl esters, Norrish Type I reaction of 1-phenyl-3-p-tolyl-propan-2-one and Norrish Type I and Type II reactions of benzoin alkyl ethers were examined. The influence of cations over the photodimerization of acenaphthylene and cross-photodimerization between acenaphthylene and N-benzyl maleimide included within Nafion were also examined. The photochemical behaviors of the above substrates were significantly altered within Nafion compared with their solution photochemistry. Of particular interest, the product distributions were found to depend on the counter cations of Nafion.     

Microwave specific Wolff rearrangement of alpha-diazoketones and its relevance to the nonthermal and thermal effect

alpha-Diazoketones possess high electric dipole moments, as a consequence of the dipolar nature of the diazocarbonyl functional group. The vectorial analysis, theoretical calculations (PM3 and ab initio), and literature reports based on experimental and theoretical calculations reveal a higher dipole moment for the Z-configuration of the diazo functional group. Microwave irradiation of alpha-diazoketone (1a-m) (Figure 1) promotes Wolff rearrangement specifically via the Z-configuration in excellent yields. The dielectric properties of the solvent govern the course of the microwave rearrangement. 3-Diazocamphor (1m) on microwave irradiation in benzylamine exhibits nonthermal effects to furnish exclusively the Wolff rearrangement product (4m), equivalent to its photochemical behavior. In the presence of an aqueous medium, through solvent heating predominates, leading to the formation of a tricyclic ketone (5) as the principal product, arising from an intramolecular C-H insertion. This behavior is similar to its known thermal and transition metal catalyzed reactivity pattern.     

Thermal and photochemical transformation of conformational chirality into configurational chirality in the crystalline state

Because they crystallize in chiral conformations in which abstraction of only one of two diastereotopic gamma-hydrogen atoms is possible, salts formed between achiral keto-acids possessing the tricyclo[4.4.1.0]undecane ring system and optically pure amines undergo Norrish type II cleavage in the solid state in enantiomeric excesses as high as 95% at 98% conversion, following removal of the ionic chiral auxiliaries. Thermal enolene rearrangement of the same salts results in optical yields approximately half those observed for the photochemical reaction.     

Thermal behavior of amide substituted diacetylenes

Diacetylenes substituted with various amide groups were prepared and their solid-state polymerization behavior was studied. A calorimetric study of the isothermal polymerization of 1,6-diacetylamino-2,4-hexadiyne was performed in detail. This compound has an extremely high reactivity. The reaction proceeded very quickly and the ultimate conversion reached over 40% slightly above room temperature. The feature of the reaction resembles those observed in the solid-state polymerization of other diacetylene compounds, i.e., the reaction proceeds slowly in the initial stage, but the rate of reaction increases drastically at about 5% conversion to polymer. Quantitative conversion, however, was not attained at any temperature, and the reaction leveled off within 1.5 h. It is assumed that the reaction cannot continue owing to the distortions generated in the crystals during the polymerization process. The crystalline state of the polymer obtained was highly disordered.     

Kinetic nonequivalence of spiropyran molecules during their photochromic conversions in Langmuir-Blodgett layers

The kinetics of the photochromic conversions of spiropyran molecules in Langmuir-Blodgett layers based on stearic acid were investigated. It was shown that the molecules of spiropyran are nonequivalent in their reactivity both in the reverse, dark stage and in the direct photochemical stage of the process. A correlation between the reactivity of the molecules in the direct and reverse reactions was demonstrated. The sign of the correlation was positive: the relatively more reactive spiropyran molecules in the direct photochemical reaction also remain more reactive in the reverse dark process. A physical model for the influence of the cell environment on the reactivity of the molecule, in which the effective relaxation of the structure of the cell environment following each event of the chemical conversion is proposed, was put forward.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 2018–2024, September, 1991.     

A study of photochemistry of flavins in pyridine and with a donor

Abstract— Both anaerobic and aerobic photolysis of riboflavin in pyridine yielded several photoproducts, analogous to the photochemical reaction in aqueous solution. Lumiflavin was also photoreduced in pyridine (an electron donor) without decomposition of the isoall-oxazine ring Differences in the reactivity of excited singlet and triplet states with respect to formation of photoproducts have been confirmed in pyridine. In the photoreduction of riboflavin by N, N'-dimethyl-N-benzylethylene diamine, an initial rate with a higher relative quantum yield than that of the reaction at a later stage was observed both in water and pyridine. Photolysis in D₂O with the donor showed no significant solvent isotope effect. These results strongly suggest that the photolysis of riboflavin in water does not involve the water molecule in the primary photochemical act. A detailed mechanism of flavin photoreaction in water to account for solvent oxygen incorporation into a photoproduct (benzaldehyde) from N, N'-dimethyl-N-benzylethylene diamine has been proposed without involving photochemical splitting of water based on our results and molecular orbital computations. Preliminary results on the kinetics of free radical decay were obtained using an ESR spectrometer and the significance of the results are discussed.     

尼龙1010盐固态缩聚反应的研究

采用测定转化率和分子量、红外光谱、X-射线衍射分析、元素分析、偏光显微镜和扫描电镜等方法研究了结晶尼龙1010盐的特性、尼龙1010盐固态缩聚反应的动力学及其相应的晶体结构形态,用DSC法探讨了其反应机理。     

Solution and crystal lattice effects on the photochemistry of 6-substituted cyclohexenones(1)(,)(2)

The photochemistry of 13 4,4-diphenylcyclohexenones, substituted at carbon-6, was investigated in solution and in the crystalline state. The stereoselectivity was of particular interest. In the solution photochemistry of C-6 monosubstituted enones in benzene, there was a unique preference for migration of the cis-phenyl group with formation of bicyclo[3.1.0]hexanone photoproducts, with the original 6-substituent having an endo configuration at carbon-3 of the product. In methanol the reaction was diverted to afford 3,4-diphenylcyclohex-2-enes understood as arising from a hydrogen-bonded zwitterionic intermediate. The solid-state photochemistry was also investigated. There was a dramatic absence of the 3,4-diphenylcyclohex-2-ene products in accord with the absence of the hydrogen bonding encountered in methanol. Further, the solid-state reactivity correlated with a vector analysis using X-ray atomic coordinates. This established that the migrating phenyl group required an orientation facing the enone beta-carbon. While the interesting preference for the cis-endo migration was not intuitively predicted, ab initio computations on the alternative phenyl-bridged triplet intermediates did lead to an understanding of the selectivity.     

Engineering reactions in crystalline solids: photochemical generation of secondary and tertiary enol radical pairs from crystalline ketodiesters.

The photochemical decarbonylation of several crystalline 1,3-acetonedicarboxylates has been analyzed in solution and in the solid state. It is shown that the efficiency of the solid-state reaction depends on the stability of the intermediate acyl-alkyl and alkyl-alkyl radical pairs. Reactions proceeding through tertiary enol radicals are more efficient than reactions proceeding through secondary enol radical centers. Solid-state reactions that require the intermediacy of primary enol radicals do not occur. It is also shown that the selectivity of product formation in crystals depends on the structure of the reactant solid phase.     

Concept of variable activation energy and its validity in nonisothermal kinetics

The concept of variable activation energy in solid-state kinetics under nonisothermal conditions has been suffering from doubt and controversy. Rate equations of nonisothermal kinetics of solid decomposition, which involve the factors of thermodynamics conditions, pressure of gaseous product, structure parameters of solid, and/or extent of conversion, are derived from the models of the interface reaction, the diffusion of gaseous product, and the nuclei growth of the solid product, respectively. The definition of the validity function in the rate equations represents the influence of the factors on the reaction rate. A function of variable activation energy depending on the validity function is also developed. The changing trend and degree of activation energy are extrapolated from the function of variable activation energy and based on the data of nonisothermal thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate. It is shown that the concept of variable activation energy is meaningfully applicable to solid-state reactions under nonisothermal conditions.     

Effect of pressure on free radical copolymerization kinetics. II. Novel methods of measuring monomer reactivity ratios under high-pressure conditions

Two new techniques for the determination of monomer reactivity ratios in copolymerization under high-pressure conditions have been developed, viz., the “sandwich” and the “quenching” method. Both methods are based on repeated quantitative gas chromatographic analysis of the reaction mixture during the low-pressure stages preceding and succeeding the high-pressure stage, of which the kinetics is under investigation. Application of the “sandwich” method implies the occurrence of reaction during both low-pressure stages and consequently the low-pressure kinetic data are required to obtain the transition points of low to high pressure and vice versa. These points constitute the initial and final conditions of the relevant high-pressure reaction. On the contrary, in the “quenching” method no reaction occurs during the low-pressure stages, owing to the lower temperature and the high activation energy of the initiator decomposition. As a consequence, the initial and final conditions of the high-pressure stage can be determined by a simple averaging procedure. Both methods have been tested for the ethylene—vinyl acetate copolymerization at 62°C and 600 kg/cm² with tert-butyl alcohol as solvent, and appear to lead to almost identical monomer reactivity ratios, although the “quenching” method is slightly preferred in case of copolymerization reactions. Both methods are particularly valuable when one of the reactants is gaseous or the reaction produces a gas. Further merits and drawbacks of both methods are discussed.     

Diels-Alder topochemistry via charge-transfer crystals: novel (thermal) single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformations

The solid-state [4+2] cycloaddition of anthracene to bis(N-ethylimino)-1,4-dithiin occurs via a unique single-phase topochemical reaction in the intermolecular (1:1) charge-transfer crystal. The thermal heteromolecular solid-state condensation involves the entire crystal, and this rare crystalline event follows topochemical control during the entire cycloaddition. As a result, a new crystalline modification of the Diels-Alder product is formed with a crystal-packing similar to that of the starting charge-transfer crystal but very different from that of the (thermodynamically favored) product modification obtained from solution-phase crystallization. Such a single-phase transformation is readily monitored by X-ray crystallography at various conversion stages, and the temporal changes in crystallographic parameters are correlated with temperature-dependent (solid-state) kinetic data that are obtained by 1H NMR spectroscopy at various reaction times. Thus, an acceleration of the solid-state reaction over time is found which results from a progressive lowering of the activation barrier for cycloaddition in a single crystal as it slowly and homogeneously converts from the reactant to the product lattice.     

The power of solvent in altering the course of photorearrangements

A clean bifurcation between two important photochemical reactions through competition of a triplet state Type II H-abstraction reaction with a photo-Favorskii rearrangement for (o/p)-hydroxy-o-methylphenacyl esters that depends on the water content of the solvent has been established. The switch from the anhydrous Type II pathway that yields indanones to the aqueous-dependent pathway producing benzofuranones occurs abruptly at low water concentrations (~8%). The surprisingly clean yields suggest that such reactions are synthetically promising.     

Morphology of solid photochemical decomposition products of silver carboxylates

The formation of solid photochemical decomposition products of silver carboxylates with long linear hydrocarbon chains and its variation in the course of reaction was investigated. At the initial stage of photolysis, particles of silver are formed with the overall situation analogous to that in the case of other silver salts. After the degree of decomposition has reached 20%, the formation of a space-ordered structure of solid products in the form of alternating volume lamellae of paraffin and silver is observed. The average distance from one lamella edge to the next lamella edge is dependent upon the length of the methylene chains of silver carboxylates and the intensity of irradiation. The results obtained are discussed from the point of view of possible spinodal character of decomposition of intermediate solid solution paraffin-silver carboxylate.     

Irradiation of imine-group VI carbene complexes in the presence of alkynes. 2. Control of product distribution

The photoreactivity of iminecarbene complexes in the presence of alkynes has been explored. Up to four different reaction paths are available depending on the alkyne and carbene complex substituents, although in each case only one type of product is isolated. 2H-Pyrrole derivatives are formed mainly from aryl alkynes. When alkyl alkynes are used, the method affords a new type of aza-dendralene product in good yields. Isoquinoline derivatives can also be formed in a two-step one-pot photochemical process when the appropriate substituents are present. Finally, indene derivatives are also available through a benzannulation reaction. To explore the underlying mechanism, we carried out computations using DFT methods. Experimental and theoretical results compare well, which allows control over the reaction and product distribution.     

Thermal degradation kinetics of poly(methylphenylsiloxane) containing methacryloyl groups

The kinetics of the thermal degradation of polymethylphenylsiloxane containing methacryloyl groups (PMPS-M) were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Thermal degradation of PMPS-M had two different processes: “unzipping degradation” and “rearrangement degradation”. The corresponding kinetic parameters of the two degradation stages were determined by using Friedman and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa methods, respectively. Coats-Redfern and Phadnis-Deshpande methods were also used to discuss the probable degradation mechanisms of the two different stages. The results showed that the activation energy obtained from Friedman method was in good agreement with the value obtained using Flynn-Wall-Ozawa method. The solid-state decomposition mechanism followed by the first degradation stage of PMPS-M was a decelerated D₄ type (three-dimensional diffusion controlled reaction). However, as for the second degradation stage of PMPS-M, its solid-state decomposition mechanism corresponded to a sigmoidal A₃ type, a nucleation and growth mechanism.