Alkenes, addition reactions transition states

A deeper understanding of carbenic philicity requires a more detailed representation of the addition reaction transition state than that afforded by structure 4. Early MO calculations furnished structure 6 as representative of the transition state for addition of a singlet carbene to an alkene (Fig. 7.6). " ... 

A cascade of alkene addition reactions begin through a chair-boat-chair conformation transition state. 

In recent years, direct, time-resolved methods have been extensively employed to obtain absolute kinetic data for a wide variety of alkyl radical reactions in the liquid phase, and there is presently a considerable body of data available for alkene addition reactions of a wide variety of radical types [104]. For example, rates of alkene addition reactions of the nucleophilic ferf-butyl radical (with its high-lying SOMO) have been found to correlate with alkene electron affinities (EAs), which provide a measure of the alkene s LUMO energies [105,106]. The data indicate that the reactivity of such nucleophilic radicals is best understood as deriving from a dominant SOMO-LUMO interaction, leading to charge transfer interactions which stabilize the early transition state and lower both the enthalpic and entropic barriers to reaction, with consequent rate increase. A similar recent study of the methyl radical indicated that it also had nucleophilic character, but its nucleophilic behavior is weaker than that expressed by other alkyl radicals [107]. 

In summary, perfluoroalkyl radicals exhibit extraordinary reactivity in both their alkene addition reactions and their hydrogen-abstraction processes, relative to their hydrocarbon counterparts. This reactivity can be attributed partially to the increased exothermicity of such reactions when compared to the analogous reactions of hydrocarbon radicals, and partially also to the fact that perfluoro-n-alkyl radicals are a-radicals. However the major source of the reactivity of 1°, 2°, 3° perfluoroalkyl radicals must be their high electronegativity, which gives rise to stabilizing polarization of the transition states of these radicals addition and hydrogen-abstraction processes. 

In general the rate of addition of a radical to an alkene depends largely on the substituents at the radical center and the alkene. Since the transition states of these exothermic reactions occur very early on the reaction coordinate, the polar effect of the substituents on the reactivity and selectivity can be described using frontier orbital theory6. The interaction of the SOMO of the radical with the LUMO and/or HOMO of the carbon-carbon double bond plays a major role in determining the polar effect of the substituents. 

Why does alkene hydroboration take place with non-Markovnikov regiochemistry, yielding the less highly substituted alcohol Hydroboration differs from many other alkene addition reactions in that it occurs in a single step without a carbocation intermediate. We can view the reaction as taking place through a four-center, cyclic transition state, as shown in Figure 7.6 p. 244). Since both C-H and C-B bonds form at the same time and from the same face of the alkene, syn stereochemistry is observed. 

For the hydronium-ion-catalyzed hydration of bicyclo[4.2.1]non-l-ene (177) and bicyclo[4.2.1]non-l(8)-ene (176), appreciable solvent isotope effects have been observed. Since these correspond to those found for reactions of unstrained olefins, it was concluded that the hydration proceeds as with unstrained alkenes by a two-step mechanism protonation of the double bond is followed by addition of the nucleophile (152b). The strained olefin with its distorted double bond is higher in energy and more reactive than an unstrained alkene. Hence, the transition state for protonation of Bredt-olefins is expected to be an early one (95). 

For steric reasons, (E)-alkenes (and transition states leading to ( )-alkenes) are usually lower in energy than (Z)-alkenes (and the transition state leading to them) because the substituents can get farther apart from one another. A reaction that can choose what it forms is therefore likely to favor the formation of ( )-alkenes. For alkenes formed by El elimination, this is exacdy what happens the less hindered ( )-alkene is favored. Carbocations can also lead to two other pathways, which do not yield to stable products but, instead, to other carbocations, that is, rearrangement and addition to an unsaturated linkage, for which the whole spectrum of reaction types is stiU open. 

A characteristic of transition states of the carbene-to-alkene addition reactions, particularly sensitive to the philicity of a carbene, is the angle of slope of the carbene plane relative to the double-bond plane. According to calculations [44, 45] one may hold that the carbenes for which in the transition states of addition to alkenes the angle a < 45° are electrophilic. The angle a > 50° is typical of nucleophilic carbenes, while the 45° < a < 50° region relates to the ambiphilic carbenes. Ab initio [44, 52, 53] and semiempirical (MNDO) [54] calculations of pathways of addition reactions of various carbenes have verified this dependence. 

The regioselectivity of electrophilic addition to an alkyne can be explained just as the regioselectivity of alkene addition reactions was explained in Section 6.4. Of the two possible transition states for the reaction, the one with a partial positive charge on the more substituted (secondary) carbon is more stable. 

Comparison of the structure-reactivity relationships for a series of styrene and alkene addition reactions with bromine and with arylsulfenyl halides also supports the idea that a bromonium ion is formed in the rate-determining step. From other evidence the sulfenyl halides are known to add through a bridged intermediate and the similarity between the two reaction series points to a closely similar transition state. 

Table 6 3 shows that the effect of substituents on the rate of addition of bromine to alkenes is substantial and consistent with a rate determining step m which electrons flow from the alkene to the halogen Alkyl groups on the carbon-carbon double bond release electrons stabilize the transition state for bromonium ion formation and increase the reaction rate... 

The bond highlighted m yellow is the peptide bond ) Pencyclic reaction (Section 10 12) A reaction that proceeds through a cyclic transition state Period (Section 1 1) A honzontal row of the penodic table Peroxide (Section 6 8) A compound of the type ROOR Peroxide effect (Section 6 8) Reversal of regioselectivity oh served m the addition of hydrogen bromide to alkenes brought about by the presence of peroxides m the reaction mixture... 

The initial discussion in this chapter will focus on addition reactions. The discussion is restricted to reactions that involve polar or ionic mechanisms. There are other important classes of addition reactions which are discussed elsewhere these include concerted addition reactions proceeding through nonpolar transition states (Chapter 11), radical additions (Chapter 12), photochemical additions (Chapter 13), and nucleophilic addition to electrophilic alkenes (Part B, Chi iter 1, Section 1.10). 

How does the Hammond postulate apply to electrophilic addition reactions The formation of a catbocation by protonation of an alkene is an endergonic step. Thus, the transition state for alkene protonation structurally resembles the... 

Problem 6.18 What about the second step in the electrophilic addition of HCl to an alkene—the reaction of chloride ion with the carbocation intermediate Is this step exergonic or endergontc Does the transition state for this second step resemble the reactant (carbocation) or product (alkyl chloride) Make a rough drawing of what the transition-state structure might look like. 

For reactions of A-acyliminium ions with alkenes and alkynes one has to distinguish between A-acyliminium ions locked in an s-trans conformation and those which (can) adopt an s-cis conformation. The former type reacts as a (nitrogen stabilized) carbocation with a C —C multiple bond. Although there are some exceptions, the intramolecular reaction of this type is regarded as an anti addition to the 7t-nucleophile, with (nearly) synchronous bond formation, the conformation of the transition state determining the product configuration. 

Various ab initio and scmi-cmpirical molecular orbital calculations have been carried out on the reaction of radicals with simple alkenes with the aim of defining the nature of the transition state (Section 1.2.7).2I>,j , 6 These calculations all predict an unsymmetrical transition state for radical addition (i.e. Figure 1.1) though they differ in other aspects. Most calculations also indicate a degree of charge development in the transition state. 

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