"Concerted" transition state, stepwise mechanism. Dynamics effects in C2-C6 enyne allene cyclizations

The C2-C6 (Schmittel)/ene cyclization of enyne-allenes is studied by a combination of kinetic isotope effects, theoretical calculations, and dynamics trajectories. For the cyclization of allenol acetate 9, the isotope effect (k(CH3)/k(CD3) is approximately 1.43. The isotope effect is interpreted in terms of a highly asynchronous transition state near the concerted/stepwise boundary. This is supported by density functional theory calculations that locate a highly asynchronous transition structure for the concerted ene reaction. However, calculations of both the experimental system and a model reaction were unable to locate a transition structure for formation of the diradical intermediate of a stepwise mechanism. The stepwise mechanism and the asynchronous concerted mechanism start out geometrically similar, and the two pathways appear to have merged as far as the initial transition structure. For the model reaction, quasiclassical direct dynamics trajectories emanating from the initial transition structure afforded the diradical intermediate in 29 out of 101 trajectories. A large portion of the remaining trajectories completes hydrogen transfer before carbon-carbon bond formation, despite the advanced carbon-carbon bond formation in the asynchronous transition structure. Overall, the single minimum-energy path from starting material to product is inadequate to describe the reaction, and a consideration of dynamic effects is necessary to understand the mechanism. The implications of these observations toward questions of concert in other reactions are discussed.     

Theoretical analysis of concerted and stepwise mechanisms of Diels-Alder reactions of butadiene with silaethylene and disilene

The concerted and the stepwise mechanisms of the Diels-Alder reactions of butadiene with silaethylene and disilene were studied by ab initio MO methods. For the reaction of butadiene and silaethylene, an asymmetric concerted process that is almost stepwise and two stepwise processes were located. For the first step of the stepwise process, the C-Si bond formation is more favorable than the C-C bond formation. The activation energy barrier of the concerted transition state is only 0.89 kcal/mol lower than that of the first-step transition state of the C-Si bond formation for the stepwise process by the CASPT2 calculation level. For the reaction of butadiene and disilene, the activation energy barrier of the concerted-type transition state constrained with Cs symmetry is about 9 kcal/mol higher than that of the stepwise transition state by the CASSCF method. The energy barrier of the first step of the stepwise reaction disappears at the CASPT2/6-311++G(d,p) calculation level including the nondynamical correlation energy, although the reaction of the butadiene with disilene occurs through the stepwise-like process.     

Entropic intermediates and hidden rate-limiting steps in seemingly concerted cycloadditions. Observation, prediction, and origin of an isotope effect on recrossing

An unusual intramolecular kinetic isotope effect (KIE) in the reaction of dichloroketene with cis-2-butene does not fit with a simple asynchronous cycloaddition transition state, but it can be predicted from trajectory studies on a bifurcating energy surface. The origin of the KIE is related to a high propensity for transition state recrossing in this system, with heavier masses recrossing less. The KIE can also be predicted by a statistical model that treats the cycloaddition as a stepwise mechanism, the rate-limiting second step being associated with an entropic barrier for formation of the second carbon-carbon bond. The relevance of this stepwise mechanism to other asynchronous but seemingly concerted cycloadditions is suggested by examination of organocatalytic Diels-Alder reactions.     

Multireference character of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of ozone with ethylene and acrylonitrile

In the present study, the concerted and stepwise reaction mechanisms for 1,3-dipole cycloaddition of ozone with ethylene (1) and acrylonitrile (2) are investigated. The stationary points are optimized by using four hybrid R(U)DFT methods. A geometry optimization method based on an approximate spin projection (AP-opt method) is applied to eliminate a spin contamination from the broken-symmetry (BS) solution. The AP-opt method reveals that a diradical intermediate for the stepwise pathway is spurious due to the spin contamination. The revised reaction profile with no diradical intermediate supports the stereospecificity. On the basis of the experimental data, the RCCSD(T) method outperforms AP-UCCSD(T), AP-UBD(T), and MkMRCCSD(4e,4o) for the systems, indicating that the RCCSD(T) method can describe the diradical character of ozone within a framework of single reference wave function. The subsequent single point energy calculations show that the highly synchronous transition state is much more favorable than the asynchronous one for 1. In the case of 2, there is not much difference between two transition states because of its asymmetric structure and charge separations in the transition states.     

氧杂环丁烷热解机理的量子化学研究

本文利用半经验分子轨道理论研究了氧杂环丁烷热解为甲醛和乙烯的反应机理计算是采用半经验方法AM1进行的, 各种驻点全部运用Berny梯度方法优化. 同时, 对过渡态的结构进行了振动分析的确证. 计算表明: 1)不存在协同的同面-同面反应途径的过渡态, 其驻点只是一个二级鞍点; 2) 协同的同面-异面反应途径需要经过一个能量很高的过渡态; 3)有利的反应途径是包含了双自由基中间体的分步过程。     

Concerted and stepwise reaction mechanisms for the addition of ozone to acetylene: a computational study

The mechanism of the reaction between acetylene and ozone to form a primary ozonide (POZ) in the gas phase has been studied theoretically. The concerted pathway, HCCH + O3 --> POZ, proceeds via a biradicaloid transition state TS0. The stepwise pathway is a three-step reaction, HCCH + O3 --> M1 --> M2 --> POZ, involving two biradical TSs and two biradical intermediates M1 and M2. The segment of the global potential energy surface (PES) for the concerted pathway is characterized as a R-PES, which is obtained from the restricted (R) density functional theory and Hartree-Fock-based methods. The RDFT and RHF solutions of TS0 and O3 are unstable toward spin-symmetry breaking. The wave function instability for TS0 and O3 results in a discontinuity between the R-PES and the region of the global PES encompassing the biradical TSs and the intermediates of the stepwise pathway, which are characterized with unrestricted (U) methods. The global PES is characterized separately as an U(R)-PES using a combination of the R and U methods. Several different values of barriers for the concerted pathway and the energy of concert (Ec) can be estimated due to complications arising from the discontinuity between the R- and the U(R)-PES and the existence of two different RDFT and UDFT O3 equilibrium geometries. RCCSD(T)//RDFT predicts a barrier of 8.2 kcal/mol. U(R)CCSD(T)/U(R)DFT predicts a barrier of 13.8 kcal/mol for the concerted and 15.3 kcal/mol for the stepwise pathway. Comparison between the R-PES barrier to the concerted pathway and the U(R)-PES barrier to the stepwise pathway suggests the former to be the only significant mechanism. Consideration of the energy difference between TS1, the TS for the first step of the stepwise mechanism, and TS0 within the global PES leads to a significantly smaller Ec. Geometry optimization with CASSCF and energy point calculations with MRMP2 are employed to characterize TS0 and TS1. MRMP2//CASSCF predicts the energy level of TS1 to be higher than that of TS0 by 2 kcal/mol. Analysis of experimental and computational data based on the low estimate of Ec shows that the possibility of the stepwise pathway being a secondary channel at elevated temperatures cannot be ruled out.     

Quantum mechanical study of the ring-closing reaction of the hexatriene radical cation

The ring-closing reaction of hexatriene radical cation 1(*)(+) to 1,3-cyclohexadiene radical cation 2(*)(+) was studied computationally at the B3LYP/6-31G* and QCISD(T)/6-311G*//QCISD/6-31G* levels of theory. Both, concerted and stepwise mechanisms were initially considered for this reaction. Upon evaluation at the B3LYP level of theory, three of the possible pathways-a concerted C(2)-symmetric via transition structure 3(*)(+) and stepwise C(1)-symmetric pathways involving three-membered ring intermediate 5(*)(+) and four-membered ring intermediate 6(*)(+)-were rejected due to high-energy stationary points along the reaction pathway. The two remaining pathways were found to be of competing energy. The first proceeds through the asymmetric, concerted transition structure 4(*)(+) with an activation barrier E(a) = 16.2 kcal/mol and an overall exothermicity of -23.8 kcal/mol. The second pathway, beginning from the cis,cis,trans rotamer of 1(*)(+), proceeds by a stepwise pathway to the cyclohexadiene product with an overall exothermicity of -18.6 kcal/mol. The activation energy for the rate-determining step in this process, the formation of the intermediate bicyclo[3.1.0]hex-2-ene via transition structure 9(*)(+), was found to be 20.4 kcal/mol. More rigorous calculations of a smaller subsection of the potential energy hypersurface at the QCISD(T)//QCISD level confirmed these findings and emphasized the importance of conformational control of the reactant.     

Thermolysis of 2-methyloxetane: a computational study

Thermal fragmentation of 2-methyloxetane (2MO), which yields two different sets of products by virtue of ring asymmetry, was studied theoretically by using DFT, MPn and CASPT2//CASSCF methods. At the MPn and DFT theoretical levels, only concerted transition states were located on the ground state potential energy surface (PES). The CASSCF approach leads to different stepwise pathways for the two fragmentation modes, with biradical as intermediates, in addition to the concerted paths, with a very shallow PES for the asynchronous region in which intermediates becomes unstable under CASPT2//CASSCF calculations. Nevertheless, activation barriers thus calculated were quite consistent with experimental values. The reaction pathway that experimentally renders the main set of products was calculated as the lowest-energy path for the fragmentation of the 2-methyloxetane heterocycle, and this evolves with an initial cleavage of the C–O bond of the oxetane ring.     

Oxyanion steering and CH-π interactions as key elements in an N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed [4 + 2] cycloaddition

The N-heterocyclic carbene catalyzed [4 + 2] cycloaddition has been shown to give γ,δ-unsaturated δ-lactones in excellent enantio- and diastereoselectivity. However, preliminary computational studies of the geometry of the intermediate enolate rendered ambiguous both the origins of selectivity and the reaction pathway. Here, we show that a concerted, but highly asynchronous, Diels-Alder reaction occurs rather than the stepwise Michael-type or Claisen-type pathways. In addition, two crucial interactions are identified that enable high selectivity: an oxyanion-steering mechanism and a CH-π interaction. The calculations accurately predict the enantioselectivity of a number of N-heterocyclic carbene catalysts in the hetero-Diels-Alder reaction.     

On the mechanism of the copper-catalyzed cyclopropanation reaction

The selectivity-determining step in enantioselective copper-catalyzed cyclopropanation with diazo compounds has been studied by experimental and computational methods. The addition of the very reactive metallacarbene intermediate in an early transition state to the substrate alkene is concerted but strongly asynchronous, with substantial cationic character on one alkene carbon in the neighborhood of the transition state. Evidence from isotope effects and Hammett studies supports the nature of the transition state. Formation of a metallacyclobutane intermediate by a [2+2] addition is kinetically disfavored. Ligand-substrate interactions influencing the enantio- and diastereoselectivity have been identified, and the preferred orientation of the alkene substrate during the addition is suggested.     

Intramolecular hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of imine and iminium dienophiles: quantum mechanical exploration of mechanisms and stereoselectivities

A series of intramolecular hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of iminium and imine dienophiles has been explored with density functional theory using the B3LYP functional and 6-31+G* basis set. Aqueous solvation energies were calculated with the CPCM method. DFT predicts that these reactions are concerted but involve highly asynchronous transition states. Stereochemical preferences of imine cycloaddition transition states arise from electron repulsion of the nitrogen lone pair with electron density from the butadiene moiety. Protonation of the nitrogen leads to a highly asynchronous transition state. The iminium dienophiles are predicted to have a 17 kcal/mol lower barrier than the corresponding imines, even in aqueous solution.     

Acid-catalyzed conversion of caryolan-1-ol to isoclovene: A computational investigation of the multi-step carbocation rearrangement

Acid-catalyzed conversion of caryolan-1-ol to isoclovene involves a multi-step carbocation rearrangement. Electronic structure calculations show that the pathway proceeds through an initial 3° carbocation, as well as a series of three other 3° carbocations. The key stage in which the ring structure is rearranged occurs not as might initially be imagined, in two separate steps with the intermediacy of a 2° carbocation, but rather in a single, concerted but highly asynchronous dyotropic rearrangement. The transition structure for this dyotropic rearrangement strongly resembles the 2° carbocation that would be involved in a stepwise mechanism. However, the dyotropic rearrangement is stereochemically unusual. While one of the bond migrations is suprafacial, as expected, the other is effectively antarafacial. This unusual stereochemical outcome is enforced by the geometric constraints of the polycyclic structure.     

Concerted nature of AB ring formation in the enzymatic cyclization of squalene to hopenes

The cyclization of the A-B rings of squalene to hopene is studied computationally (DFT). A transition structure is found for a concerted, asynchronous pathway for the formation of chair-chair decalin carbocation. The computationally derived conformer leading to this asynchronous transition structure is remarkably similar to the analogous region of 2-azasqualene encapsulated by squalene-hopene cyclase recently reported by Schulz. A concerted A-B ring closure is likely to occur in the cyclization of squalene to hopene. [structure--see text]     

异硫氰酸与甲亚胺环加成反应机理的理论研究

对异硫氰酸与甲亚胺形成四元或六元环产物的环加成反应进行了理论研究,结果表明,一分子异硫氰酸与一分子甲亚胺形成四元环(1:1)产物P1的反应(1)为经过一个两性离子中间体的分步反应,其中第二步为速控步骤,其活化热垒为107.86kJ/mol.此外,反应(1)的中间体还可与另一甲亚胺或异硫氰酸分子继续反应形成两个不同的六元环(1:2或2:1)产物P2或P3;这两个反应均为协同反应,其活化势垒分别为15.88和21.82kJ/mol.这些结果与当异硫氰酸酯与亚胺发生环加成反应时,只有类似于P2和P3的两种六元环产物生成的实验事实一致。     

β-羟基丙醛基态与激发态氢迁移反应的从头算研究

本文用从头算RHF和UHF方法在3-21G基组上研究了β-羟基丙醛基态和激发态分解为甲醛和乙烯醇的反应机理。优化得到了各反应途径的过渡态和中间体, 其结果为: 基态β-羟基丙醛经过一个六元环过渡态和一个氢键中间体形成产物, 反应属于氢迁移和断键的协同过程; 激发三态β-羟基丙醛的分解途径首先经过一个氢迁移六元环过渡态形成双自由基中间体, 然后该中间体的分解包括两条相互竞争的途径, 它们各自经过一个断碳碳键的过渡态和一个氢键激-基态配合物中间体而形成两类产物, 一类为甲醛的基态和乙烯醇的激发态, 另一类为甲醛的激发态和乙烯醇的基态。激发态反应的两条通道均属于先氢迁移后断键分解的分步过程, 且反应的第二步为速控步骤。计算结果表明, 激发态反应活化位垒都比基态的低。     

Substituent effects in pericyclic reactions of radical cations: the ring opening of 3-substituted cyclobutene radical cations

The substituent effects on the ring-opening reaction of cyclobutene radical cations have been studied at the Becke3LYP/6-31G* level of theory. The effect on the reaction energies and activation energies of the concerted and stepwise pathways of electron-donating substituents such as methyl and methoxy as well as electron-withdrawing substituents such as nitrile and carboxaldehyde in the 3-position of the cyclobutene is discussed. The exothermicity of the reaction correlates well with the ability of the substituent to stabilize the 1,3-butadiene radical cation by electron donation or conjugation. The relative stability of the (E) and (Z) isomers of the resulting 1,3-butadiene radical cations depends largely on steric effects. Similarly, steric effects are responsible for the relative energies of the different diastereomeric transition structures. The cyclopropyl carbinyl intermediate of the stepwise pathway resembles the nonclassical carbocation and is stabilized by electron-donating substituents. In the case of electron-donating substituents, this species becomes a minimum on the potential energy hypersurface, whereas unstabilized or destabilized cyclopropyl carbinyl radical cations are not minima on the hypersurface. The stabilization of the cyclopropyl carbinyl radical cation by substituents correlates qualitatively with the Brown-Okamoto substituent parameter sigma+. However, in all cases studied here, the concerted mechanism is the lowest energy pathway.     

Computational study of the aminolysis of anhydrides: effect of the catalysis to the reaction of succinic anhydride with methylamine in gas phase and nonpolar solution

Different possible pathways of the aminolysis reaction of succinic anhydride were investigated by applying high level electronic structure theory, examining the general base catalysis by amine and the general acid catalysis by acetic acid, and studying the effect of solvent. The density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) and B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) levels was employed to investigate the reaction pathways for the aminolysis reaction between succinic anhydride and methylamine. The single point ab initio calculations were based on the second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) with 6-31G(d) and 6-311++G(d,p) basis sets and CCSD(T)/6-31G(d) level calculations for geometries optimized at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. A detailed analysis of the atomic movements during the process of concerted aminolysis was further obtained by intrinsic reaction coordinate calculations. Solvent effects were assessed by the polarized continuum model method. The results show that the concerted mechanism of noncatalyzed aminolysis has distinctly lower activation energy compared with the addition/elimination stepwise mechanism. In the case of the process catalyzed by a second methylamine molecule, asynchronous proton transfer takes place, while the transition vectors of the acid-catalyzed transition states correspond to the simultaneous motion of protons. The most favorable pathway of the reaction was found through the bifunctional acid catalyzed stepwise mechanism that involves formation of eight-membered rings in the transition state structures. The difference between the activation barriers for the two mechanisms averages 2 kcal/mol at various levels of theory.     

Mechanism insights of ethane C-H bond activations by bare [Fe(III)═O]+: explicit electronic structure analysis

Alkane C-H bond activation by various catalysts and enzymes has attracted considerable attention recently, but many issues are still unanswered. The conversion of ethane to ethanol and ethene by bare [Fe(III)═O](+) has been explored using density functional theory and coupled-cluster method comprehensively. Two possible reaction mechanisms are available for the entire reaction, the direct H-abstraction mechanism and the concerted mechanism. First, in the direct H-abstraction mechanism, a direct H-abstraction is encountered in the initial step, going through a collinear transition state C···H···O-Fe and then leading to the generation of an intermediate Fe-OH bound to the alkyl radical weakly. The final product of the direct H-abstraction mechanism is ethanol, which is produced by the hydroxyl group back transfer to the carbon radical. Second, in the concerted reaction mechanism, the H-abstraction process is characterized via overcoming four/five-centered transition states (6/4)TSH_c5 or (4)TSH_c4. The second step of the concerted mechanism can lead to either product ethanol or ethene. Moreover, the major product ethene can be obtained through two different pathways, the one-step pathway and the stepwise pathway. It is the first report that the former pathway starting from (6/4)IM_c to the product can be better described as a proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET). It plays an important role in the product ethene generation according to the CCSD(T) results. The spin-orbital coupling (SOC) calculations demonstrate that the title reaction should proceed via a two-state reactivity (TSR) pattern and that the spin-forbidden transition could slightly lower the rate-determining energy barrier height. This thorough theoretical study, especially the explicit electronic structure analysis, may provide important clues for understanding and studying the C-H bond activation promoted by iron-based artificial catalysts.     

Isotope effects and the nature of selectivity in rhodium-catalyzed cyclopropanations

The mechanism of the dirhodium tetracarboxylate catalyzed cyclopropanation of alkenes with both unsubstituted diazoacetates and vinyl- and phenyldiazoacetates was studied by a combination of (13)C kinetic isotope effects and density functional theory calculations. The cyclopropanation of styrene with methyl phenyldiazoacetate catalyzed by Rh(2)(octanoate)(4) exhibits a substantial (13)C isotope effect (1.024) at the terminal olefinic carbon and a smaller isotope effect (1.003-1.004) at the internal olefinic carbon. This is consistent with a highly asynchronous cyclopropanation process. Very similar isotope effects were observed in a bisrhodium tetrakis[(S)-N-(dodecylbenzenesulfonyl)prolinate] (Rh(2)(S-DOSP)(4) catalyzed reaction, suggesting that the chiral catalyst engages in a very similar cyclopropanation transition-state geometry. Cyclopropanation with ethyl diazoacetate was concluded to involve an earlier transition state, based on a smaller terminal olefinic isotope effect (1.012-1.015). Density functional theory calculations (B3LYP) predict a reaction pathway involving complexation of the diazoesters to rhodium, loss of N(2) to afford a rhodium carbenoid, and an asynchronous but concerted cyclopropanation transition state. The isotope effects predicted for reaction of a phenyl-substituted rhodium carbenoid with styrene match within the error of the experimental values, supporting the accuracy of the theoretical calculations and the rhodium carbenoid mechanism. The accuracy of the calculations is additionally supported by excellent predictions of reaction barriers, stereoselectivity, and reactivity trends. The nature of alkene selectivity and diastereoselectivity effects in these reactions is discussed, and a new model for enantioselectivity in Rh(2)(S-DOSP)(4)-catalyzed cyclopropanations is presented.     

Mechanistic Investigation of a Synthetic Route to Biaryls by the Sigmatropic Rearrangement of Arylsulfonium Species

A comprehensive mechanistic investigation was conducted on the coupling reaction of aryl sulfoxides with phenols by using trifluoroacetic anhydride to yield biaryls. NMR experiments revealed that our previously proposed mechanism, which consists of a cascade of an interrupted Pummerer reaction and a rate-determining [3,3] sigmatropic rearrangement, is reasonable. The electronic effects of the substrates were also evaluated to elucidate the nature of the rearrangement step. Based on experimental observations and theoretical calculations, we conclude that the rearrangement is highly asynchronous and stepwise rather than concerted when electron-rich phenols are employed for the reaction.