Kinetic analysis of the phenyl-shift reaction in β-O-4 lignin model compounds: a computational study

The phenyl-shift reaction for the β-radical of phenethyl phenyl ether (PhCH(2)C?HOPh, β-PPE) is an integral step in the pyrolysis of PPE, which is a model compound for the β-O-4 linkage in lignin. We investigated the influence of natural occurring substituents (hydroxy, methoxy) on the reaction rate by calculating relative rate constants using density functional theory in combination with transition state theory, including anharmonic correction for low-frequency modes. The phenyl-shift reaction proceeds through an oxaspiro[2.5]octadienyl radical intermediate and the overall rate constants were computed invoking the steady-state approximation (its validity was confirmed). Substituents on the phenethyl ring have only little influence on the rate constants. If a methoxy substituent is located in the para position of the phenyl ring adjacent to the ether oxygen, the energies of the intermediate and second transition state are lowered, but the overall rate constant is not significantly altered. This is a consequence of the dominating first transition from reactant to intermediate in the overall rate constant. In contrast, o- and di-o-methoxy substituents significantly accelerate the phenyl-migration rate compared to β-PPE.     

Chlorination of 2-phenoxypropanoic acid with NCP in aqueous acetic acid: using a novel ortho-para relationship and the para/meta ratio of substituent effects for mechanism elucidation

Rate constants were measured for the oxidative chlorodehydrogenation of (R,S)-2-phenoxypropanoic acid and nine ortho-, ten para- and five meta-substituted derivatives using (R,S)-1-chloro-3-methyl-2,6-diphenylpiperidin-4-one (NCP) as chlorinating agent. The kinetics was run in 50% (v/v) aqueous acetic acid acidified with perchloric acid under pseudo-first-order conditions with respect to NCP at temperature intervals of 5 K between 298 and 318 K, except at the highest temperature for the meta derivatives. The dependence of rate constants on temperature was analyzed in terms of the isokinetic relationship (IKR). For the 20 reactions studied at five different temperatures, the isokinetic temperature was estimated to be 382 K, which suggests the preferential involvement of water molecules in the rate-determining step. The dependence of rate constants on meta and para substitution was analyzed using the tetralinear extension of the Hammett equation. The parameter lambda for the para/meta ratio of polar substituent effects was estimated to be 0.926, and its electrostatic modeling suggests the formation of an activated complex bearing an electric charge near the oxygen atom belonging to the phenoxy group. A new approach is introduced for examining the effect of ortho substituents on reaction rates. Using IKR-determined values of activation enthalpies for a set of nine pairs of substrates with a given substituent, a linear correlation is found between activation enthalpies of ortho and para derivatives. The correlation is interpreted in terms of the selectivity of the reactant toward para- or ortho-monosubstituted substrates, the slope of which being related to the ortho effect. This slope is thought to be approximated by the ratio of polar substituent effects from ortho and para positions in benzene derivatives. Using the electrostatic theory of through-space interactions and a dipole length of 0.153 nm, this ratio was calculated at various positions of a charged reaction center along the benzene C1-C4 axis, being about 2.5 near the ring and decreasing steeply with increasing distance until reaching a minimum value of -0.565 at 1.3 nm beyond the aromatic ring. Activation enthalpies and entropies were estimated for substrates bearing the isoselective substituent in either ortho and para positions, being demonstrated that they are much different from the values for the parent substrate. The electrophilic attack on the phenolic oxygen atom by the protonated chlorinating agent is proposed as the rate-determining step, this step being followed by the fast rearrangement of the intermediate thus formed, leading to products containing chlorine in the aromatic ring.     

Computational prediction of alpha/beta selectivities in the pyrolysis of oxygen-substituted phenethyl phenyl ethers

Phenethyl phenyl ether (PPE; PhCH 2CH 2OPh) is the simplest model for the most common beta-O-4 linkage in lignin. Previously, we developed a computational scheme to calculate the alpha/beta product selectivity in the pyrolysis of PPE by systematically exploiting error cancellation in the computation of relative rate constants. The alpha/beta selectivity is defined as the selectivity between the competitive hydrogen abstraction reaction paths on the alpha- and beta-carbons of PPE. We use density functional theory and employ transition state theory where we include diagonal anharmonic correction in the vibrational partition functions for low frequency modes for which a semiclassical expression is used. In this work we investigate the effect of oxygen substituents (hydroxy, methoxy) in the para position on the phenethyl ring of PPE on the alpha/beta selectivities. The total alpha/beta selectivity increases when substituents are introduced and is larger for the methoxy than the hydroxy substituent. The strongest effect of the substituents is observed for the alpha-pathway of the hydrogen abstraction by the phenoxyl chain carrying radical for which the rate increases. For the beta pathway and the abstraction by the R-benzyl radical (R = OH,OCH 3) the rate decreases with the introduction of the substituents. These findings are compared with results from recent experimental studies.     

Effect of substituents on the oxidation of some alkyl-aryl sulphoxides by chloramine-T

The oxidation rates of some substituted phenyl methyl sulphoxides with chloramine-T have been studied in alkaline and neutral media. OsO₄ is used as catalyst in alkaline medium where the meta and para substituents show no effect on the reaction rate. This is explained on the basis of isokinetic relationship. In both the media, the orthosubstituents show steric effect.     

Reactivity of triarylphosphine peroxyl radical cations generated through the reaction of triarylphosphine radical cations with oxygen

One-electron oxidation of triarylphosphines (Ar3P, Ar = phenyl and substituted phenyl) in benzonitrile (PhCN) has been studied using pulse radiolysis technique. One-electron oxidation of Ar3P occurred to yield the radical cation (Ar3P*+) which showed an intense absorption with a peak at 360-370 nm together with a broad band at 500-600 nm. The addition of molecular oxygen (O2) to the phosphorus atom of Ar3P*+ took place at the second-order rate constant of 10(7)-10(9) dm(3) mol(-1) s(-1) to yield the peroxyl triarylphosphinyl radical cation (Ar3P+OO*). It is found that the electron-releasing substituents on the para position of the phenyl ring of Ar3P influence the rate constants of the reaction of Ar3P*+ with O2 and that o-methyl substituents on the phenyl ring influence the reactivity of Ar3P+OO*.     

Effets de substituants et conformation de stilbenes

Simultaneous study of para nitrostilbenes by X-ray diffraction and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance shows a quantitative relationship between the effect of a para nitro substituent on the chemical shift of ethylenic carbon not adjacent to the substituted phenyl ring and the dihedral angle between this phenyl ring and the central double bond. The alternative introduction of substituents in each phenyl ring discloses at the position of carbon β a certain π-polarization which extends to the double bond and to an unsaturated group carried by carbon α.     

Linear free energy relationship rate constants and basicities of N-substituted phenyl glycines in positronium-glycine complex formation

Complex formation between positronium and glycine derivatives in solution is discussed and the complex reaction rate constants obtained by means of a positron annihilation lifetime spectrometer with BaF₂ detectors. Rate constants mainly depend on the conjugation effect at the benzene ring and the induction effect of the substituents at the phenyl. There is a linear free energy relationship between rate constants and basicities of N-substituted phenyl glycines in orthopositronium-glycine complex formation.     

Kinetic study on the alkaline hydrolysis of 1-aryl-2-phenyl-2-imidazolines. Basicity-rate of hydrolysis and structure relationships

Rate constants (k_obs) of hydrolysis in boiling alkaline ethanolic solution for six 1-aryl-2-phenyl-2-imidazolines were determined. The influence of substituents in the phenyl group at N-1 upon rate of hydrolysis was studied. When the imidazoline ring is considered to be a substituent of the benzene ring at N-1, a good correlation with the Hammett equation is found. It was observed that reaction rates were enhanced by electron-releasing phenyl substituents of N-1 and reduced by electron-withdrawing groups, providing a change in the mechanism of the reaction in the first case that was not observed in the second. Agreement with the Hammett equation allowed comparison between experimental and “calculated” rate constants which are nearly equal. An equation relating the rate constants with the ionization constants of imidazolinium ions is given.     

Experimental and theoretical approaches to the study of the reactivity and mechanism of the substitution of phenyl 1-(2,4-dinitronaphthyl) ether with anilines derivatives

Reactions of aniline derivatives in dimethyl sulfoxide with phenyl 1-(2,4-dinitronaphthyl) ether yield aryl 1-(2,4-dinitronaphthyl) amine, which results in substitution of the phenoxy groups at the naphthyl ipso carbon atom. Rate constants were measured spectrophotometrically, and reaction proton transfer was rate limiting. The values of the rate coefficients indicate a rate-limiting proton transfer mechanism with significant substituent effects. The calculated activation parameters were of regular variation with substituents in 4- and 3-position in the aniline nucleophile, and the reaction proceeded through a common mechanism. Hammett's reaction constant showed that the reaction rate constants depend on the electron density of the nitrogen atom of aniline derivative, whereas the coefficient value obtained from the Brönsted relation indicated that the reaction was significantly associative and quite zwitterion like. Computational studies of the substitution were carried out based on density functional theory, and theoretical to the experimental agreement was achieved.     

萘并萘醌酚醛树脂的合成和光致变色性质

通过6-氯-5,12-萘并萘醌(1)与酚醛树脂经亲棱取代,一步合成制备具有光致变色性的酚醛树脂(3)。在苯溶液中,光致变色聚合物(3)与光致变色化合物6-{4-[2-(4-羟基苯基)异丙基]苯氧基}-5,12-萘并萘醌(2)有相似的光致变色行为。但是,在聚合物(3)中,由于苯基处于聚合物骨架中不易迁移,使聚合物(3)的变色速度较化合物(2)明显减慢,化合物(2)的光异构化速度常数是聚合物(3)的3倍。同时发现溶剂对聚合物(3)的光诱导trans-ana异构化反应速度有明显影响,在氯仿中的反应速度常数约为在苯中的2倍。     

Kinetic study on the acid hydrolysis of 1-aryl-2-phenyl-2-imidazolines. Basicity-rate of hydrolysis and structure relationships

Rate constants (k_obs) of hydrolysis in sulfuric acid-water mixtures at 100° for five 1-aryl-2-phenyl-2-imidazolines were determined. The influence of substituents in the phenyl group at N-1 upon the rate of hydrolysis was studied. When the imidazoline ring is considered to be a substituent of the benzene ring at N-1, a good correlation with the Hammett equation is found. In opposition to the behavior in alkaline media it was observed that reaction rates were enhanced by electron-withdrawing phenyl substituents and reduced by electron-releasing groups providing, similarly, a change in the mechanism of the reaction in the second case that was not observed in the first. Agreement with the Hammett equation allowed comparison between experimental and “calculated” rate constants which are fairly close. An equation relating the rate constants with the pK_a values of the imidazolinium ions is given.     

取代基物化参数及其在药物定量构效关系中的应用

把取代基电性、立体及疏水性物化参数组合建立一种新取代基描述方法, 对环尿素类和N,N-二甲基-2-溴苯乙胺类衍生物进行结构表征. 对训练样本集通过逐步回归筛选变量, 所建多元线性回归方程R2分别为0.853和0.960, 留一法交互检验Rcv2分别为0.723和0.901；用预测集样本作外部预测, 所得Qext2分别为0.7617和0.7653. 结果显示：环尿素类化合物结构中苯环邻位立体、间位疏水、对位疏水及立体因素对该类药物抗HIV活性产生阻抑作用； N,N-二甲基-2-溴苯乙胺类苯环上取代基立体因素及对位给电子效应有利于提高肾上腺素能阻断活性.     

The concerted addition of HBr to aryl alkynes; orthogonal pi bond selectivity

In a weakly acidic solution, the addition of HBr to 1-phenylprop-1-yne produces predominantly the anti-Markovnikov product. In this paper, we consider five possible explanations for this behavior and conclude that the concerted addition is occurring on the acetylenic pi bond orthogonal to the extended aromatic pi system. The electronic effect of the distal methyl group and the steric hindrance of the coplanar phenyl ring combine to promote bromide attack at the beta carbon. Attack on this pi bond is insensitive to the electronic effect of meta and para substituents on the ring but is very (sterically) sensitive toward all ortho substituents.     

Stability of indolyphenylmethyl cations

In order to evaluate the influence of substituents in position 5 of indole and in the para position of phenyl on the stability of 2-ethoxycarbonylindole-3-indolyphenylmethyl cations (IPMCs) we have experimentally determined by a spectrophotometric method the values of the acidity constants (pK_R+) of the IPMCs in H₂SO₄ solutions. The IPMCs were generated from 3-(-chlorobenzyl)-2-ethoxycarbonylindoles by dissolving them in sulfuric acid with a concentration of 55–93%. Two reaction series were studied. In the first, the correlation equation pK_R+ = –5.18 –10.5 was obtained for substituents in the para position of the phenyl ring. In the second series we evaluated the influence of substituents in position 5 of the indole ring: pK_R+ = –2.6 –11.3. The lower influence of substituents on the stability of the IMPCs from position 5 as compared with the para position of the phenyl ring is due to the delocalization of the charge in the heterocycle of the indole system. It was established that in sulfuric acid solutions di(2-ethoxycarbonylindol-3-yl)phenylmethanes dissociate with the formation of IMPCs and 2-ethoxycarbonylindoles.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 489–492, April, 1980.     

New hypocholesterolemic abietamide derivatives. II. Synthesis and hypocholesterolemic activity of N-phenyl-delta 8-dihydroabietamides

A series of N-phenyl-delta 8-dihydroabietamide analogs were prepared and tested for hypocholesterolemic activity. The effects of substituents of the phenyl moiety on the activities were quantitatively analyzed by using various substituent parameters. The activities were enhanced by the electron-donating effect of ortho and para substitutents and the bulkiness of ortho substituents. A combination of 2,6-dimethylaniline with resin acids other than delta 8-dihydroabietic acid produced lower activities than N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-delta 8-dihydroabietamide, abietane-type carboxamides being somewhat stronger than pimarane-type carboxamides. The conversion of the carboxamide group to other groups resulted in more or less of a decrease in activity, giving evidence that the carboxamide group is important to hypocholesterolemic activity.     

Substituent effect on the hydrolysis of side groups in poly(phenyl methacrylates)

The kinetics of the basic hydrolysis of several poly(phenyl methacrylates) with different substituents in the aromatic ring were investigated. Using Keller's equations to describe the effect of neighboring groups on the kinetics of side-group reactions in polymers, we computed the corresponding rate constants which correlated well with Hammett's substituent constants.     

Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of ring-substituted phenyl vinyl sulfides

The acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of phenyl vinyl sulfide and its ring-substituted derivatives has kinetically been investigated in 40% aqueous dioxane and 90% aqueous tetrahydrofuran. The observed rate constants were satisfactorily correlated with the Hammett acidity function H₀. The effect of substituents on the hydrolysis rates was found to conform to the Hammett σ- constants with ? = ? 1.98 (40% dioxane, 30°). The ? value was compared with that found for the hydrolysis of phenyl vinyl ether in terms of the transmission efficiency of the S and O atoms.     

Calculations of substituent and solvent effects on the kinetic isotope effects of Menshutkin reactions

Nitrogen, deuterium, halogen, and carbon kinetic isotope effects have been modeled for the Menshutkin reaction between methyl halides and substituted N,N-dimethylaniline at the HF/6-31G(d) level of theory augmented by the C-PCM continuum solvent model for several solvents. Systematic changes in geometries of the transition states and Gibbs free energies of activation have been found with phenyl ring substituents, solvent, and the leaving group. Kinetic isotope effects also change systematically; however, these changes are predicted to be small, inside the usual precision of the experimental measurements. On the contrary, no correlation has been found between the kinetic isotope effects and the Hammett constants for para substituents. Thus opposite to previous assumptions, our results indicate that kinetic isotope effects on the Menshutkin reaction cannot be used to predict the position of the transition state on the reaction coordinate.     

Polymerization of ethylene in the presence of bis(phenoxyimine) complexes of titanium chloride that contain various substituents in a phenoxy group

The kinetic features of ethylene polymerization with six methylaluminoxane-activated bis(phenoxyimine) complexes of titanium chloride that are distinguished by the electronic properties of substituents in the phenoxy group are studied in the temperature range 30–80°C and at an ethylene pressure of 0.3 MPa. It is shown that, in the presence of an electro-donor or electron-acceptor substituent in the phenoxy group, the catalytic systems under study exhibit high activity (up to ～700 t_PE mol _cat ^?1 mol _ethylene ^?1 h^?1) and form high-molecular-mass PE samples (M _η = (500–900) × 10³) with different molecular-mass distributions. In the case of titanium bis(phenoxyimine) complexes containing donor substituents at the para position of the phenoxy group, the polymerization of ethylene follows the living-chain mechanism, while the introduction of acceptor substituents diminishes the contribution of this mechanism to the reaction.     

Variational analysis of the phenyl + O2 and phenoxy + O reactions

Variational transition state analysis was performed on the barrierless phenyl + O2 and phenoxy + O association reactions. In addition, we also calculated rate constants for the related vinyl radical (C2H3) + O2 and vinoxy radical (C2H3O) + O reactions and provided rate constant estimates for analogous reactions in substituted aromatic systems. Potential energy scans along the dissociating C-OO and CO-O bonds (with consideration of C-OO internal rotation) were obtained at the O3LYP/6-31G(d) density functional theory level. The CO-O and C-OO bond scission reactions were observed to be barrierless, in both phenyl and vinyl systems. Potential energy wells were scaled by G3B3 reaction enthalpies to obtain accurate activation enthalpies. Frequency calculations were performed for all reactants and products and at points along the potential energy surfaces, allowing us to evaluate thermochemical properties as a function of temperature according to the principles of statistical mechanics and the rigid rotor harmonic oscillator (RRHO) approximation. The low-frequency vibrational modes corresponding to R-OO internal rotation were omitted from the RRHO analysis and replaced with a hindered internal rotor analysis using O3LYP/6-31G(d) rotor potentials. Rate constants were calculated as a function of temperature (300-2000 K) and position from activation entropies and enthalpies, according to canonical transition state theory; these rate constants were minimized with respect to position to obtain variational rate constants as a function of temperature. For the phenyl + O2 reaction, we identified the transition state to be located at a C-OO bond length of between 2.56 and 2.16 A (300-2000 K), while for the phenoxy + O reaction, the transition state was located at a CO-O bond length of 2.00-1.90 A. Variational rate constants were fit to a three-parameter form of the Arrhenius equation, and for the phenyl + O2 association reaction, we found k(T) = 1.860 x 1013T-0.217 exp(0.358/T) (with k in cm3 mol-1 s-1 and T in K); this rate equation provides good agreement with low-temperature experimental measurements of the phenyl + O2 rate constant. Preliminary results were presented for a correlation between activation energy (or reaction enthalpy) and pre-exponential factor for heterolytic O-O bond scission reactions.