Ring cleavage of aziridines by difluoroamine: mechanistic insights from ab initio and DFT study

cis-2,3-Dimethylaziridine reacts with difluoroamine to give the corresponding alkene and nitrogen with retention of configuration. We have carried out a DFT study of this reaction to clarify the reaction mechanism by considering a multistep reaction pathway with possible intermediacy of several three- and four-membered cyclic intermediates and transition states (TSs). The energetics of this reaction shows that the reaction takes place in four steps including a three-membered azamine intermediate. Both the energetics and the stereochemical outcome of this reaction rule out the formation of a four-membered diazetine intermediate during the reaction. Although the first N-N bond formation step is rate determining, the final step, asynchronous concerted cleavage of the azamine intermediate, explains the stereochemistry of this reaction. The asynchronous nature of the final step makes the reaction Woodward-Hoffmann allowed, as reported by Yamabe and Minato (J. Phys. Chem. A 2001, 105, 7281). Computations at HF and MP2 levels confirm the same trends in energetics. Single point energy computations at B3LYP, MP2, and QCISD levels with the 6-311++G(d,p) and cc-pVTZ basis sets show that the larger basis sets predict higher free energies of activation and less negative free energies of reaction. Intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) analyses reveal the asynchronous nature of the first and the last steps of the reaction. The deamination of trans-2,3-dimethylaziridine was shown to follow a course of reaction similar to that of the cis isomer.