Alkenes alkyl substituents

As was the case for alkenes, alkyl substituents lower the enthalpy of the unsaturated molecule. Hence, ketones, with two R s, have lower enthalpies than aldehydes, with one R. The electron-releasing R s diminish the electrophilicity of the carbonyl C, lessening the chemical reactivity of ketones. Furthermore, the R s, especially large bulky ones, make approach of reactants to the C more difficult. 

Alkenes are relatively nonpolar Alkyl substituents donate electrons to an sp hybridized carbon to which they are attached slightly better than hydrogen does... 

Section 5 6 Electron release from alkyl substituents stabilizes a double bond In gen eral the order of alkene stability is... 

We have seen this situation before m the reaction of alcohols with hydrogen halides (8ection 4 11) m the acid catalyzed dehydration of alcohols (8ection 5 12) and m the conversion of alkyl halides to alkenes by the El mechanism (8ection 5 17) As m these other reactions an electronic effect specifically the stabilization of the carbocation intermediate by alkyl substituents is the decisive factor The more stable the carbo cation the faster it is formed... 

A general synthesis of tiisubstituted alkenes containing three different alkyl substituents is achieved by the following methodology (288) ... 

In the El cb mechanism, the direction of elimination is governed by the kinetic acidity of the individual p protons, which, in turn, is determined by the polar and resonance effects of nearby substituents and by the degree of steric hindrance to approach of base to the proton. Alkyl substituents will tend to retard proton abstraction both electronically and sterically. Preferential proton abstraction from less substituted positions leads to the formation of the less substituted alkene. This regiochemistry is opposite to that of the El reaction. 

The Friedel-Crafts reaction is a very important method for introducing alkyl substituents on an aromatic ring. It involves generation of a carbocation or related electrophilic species. The most common method of generating these electrophiles involves reaction between an alkyl halide and a Lewis acid. The usual Friedel-Crafts catalyst for preparative work is AICI3, but other Lewis acids such as SbFj, TiC, SnCl4, and BF3 can also promote reaction. Alternative routes to alkylating ecies include protonation of alcohols and alkenes. 

The observed stereoehemistry of [2jc -I- 2jc] eyeloadditions is in accord with the stereochemieal predietions that ean be made on the basis of this model. For example, E-and Z-2-butene give stereoisomerie products with ethoxyketene. For monosubstituted alkenes, the substituent is vieinal and cis to the ethoxy group in the eyelobutanone product. This is exactly the stereoehemistry predicted by the model in Fig. 11.16, sinee it maximizes the separation of the alkyl and ethoxy substituents in the transition state. 

In the next step, one of the borane-hydrogens is transferred to a sp -carbon center of the alkene and a carbon-boron bond is formed, via a four-membered cyclic transition state 6. A mono-alkyIborane R-BH2 molecule thus formed can react the same way with two other alkene molecules, to yield a trialkylborane R3B. In case of tri- and tctra-substituted alkenes—e.g. 2-methylbut-2-ene 7 and 2,3-dimethylbut-2-ene 9—which lead to sterically demanding alkyl-substituents at the boron center, borane will react with only two or even only one equivalent of alkene, to yield a alkylborane or mono alky Iborane respectively ... 

The (Horner-)Wadsworth-Emmons reaction generally is superior to the Wittig reaction, and has found application in many cases for the synthesis of a ,/3-unsaturated esters, a ,/3-unsaturated ketones and other conjugated systems. Yields are often better then with the original Wittig procedure. However the Wadsworth-Emmons method is not suitable for the preparation of alkenes with simple, non-stabilizing alkyl substituents. 

For example, ethylene has AF.f hvdr0g = —137 kj/mol (-32.8 kcal/mol), but when one alkyl substituent is attached to the double bond, as in l-butene( the alkene becomes approximately 10 kj/mol more stable (A/-Phydr0g = -126 kj/mol). Further increasing the degree of substitution leads to still further stability. As a general rule, alkenes follow the stability order ... 

Markovnikov s rule In the addition of HX to an alkene, the H attaches to the carbon with fewer alkyl substituents and the X attaches to the carbon with more alkyl substituents. 

Aikene chemistry is dominated by electrophilic addition reactions. When HX reacts with an unsymmetrically substituted aikene, Markovnikov s rule predicts that the H will add to the carbon having fewer alky) substituents and the X group will add to the carbon having more alkyl substituents. Electrophilic additions to alkenes take place through carbocation intermediates formed by reaction of the nucleophilic aikene tt bond with electrophilic H+. Carbocation stability follows the order... 

According to Zaitsev s rule, formulated in 1875 by the Russian chemist Alexander Zaitsev, base-induced elimination reactions generally (although not always) give the more stable alkene product—that is, the alkene with more alkyl substituents on the double-bond carbons. In the following two cases, for example, the more highly substituted alkene product predominates. 

Alkyl substituents accelerate electrophilic addition reactions of alkenes and retard nucleophilic additions to carbonyl compounds. The bonding orbital of the alkyl groups interacts with the n bonding orbital, i.e., the HOMO of alkenes and raises the energy (Scheme 22). The reactivity increases toward electron acceptors. The orbital interacts with jt (LUMO) of carbonyl compounds and raises the energy (Scheme 23). The reactivity decreases toward electron donors. 

A more complete discussion of the mechanism of addition of hydrogen halides to alkenes is given in Chapter 6 of Part A. In particular, the question of whether or not discrete carbocations are involved is considered there. Even when a carbocation is not involved, the regioselectivity of electrophilic addition is the result of attack of the electrophile at the more electron-rich carbon of the double bond. Alkyl substituents increase the electron density of the terminal carbon by hyperconjugation (see Part A, Section 1.1.8). 

The reactivity order of alkenes is that expected for attack by an electrophilic reagent. Reactivity increases with the number of alkyl substituents.163 Terminal alkenes are relatively inert. The reaction has a low AHl and relative reactivity is dominated by entropic factors.164 Steric effects govern the direction of approach of the oxygen, so the hydroperoxy group is usually introduced on the less hindered face of the double bond. A key mechanistic issue in singlet oxygen oxidations is whether it is a concerted process or involves an intermediate formulated as a pcrcpoxide. Most of the available evidence points to the perepoxide mechanism.165... 

Y = NMe3) stated that alkene will predominate which has least alkyl substituents on the double bond carbons , i.e. (37) above (b) Saytzev (1875 working on RBr compounds, i.e. Y = Br) stated that alkene will predominate which has most alkyl substituents on the double bond carbons , i.e. (38) above. Both generalisations are valid as the figures quoted above indicate. It is thus clear that the composition of the alkene mixture obtained on elimination is influenced by Y, the nature of the leaving group, and an explanation is required about how this influence may be exerted. 

Support for the actual elimination step, in each case, being E2 is provided by the fact that changing the alkyl substituents on C and Cfi results in reaction rates that, in general, increase with the relative thermodynamic stability of the product alkene. 

Monosubstituted Alkenes. Simple unbranched terminal alkenes that have only alkyl substituents, such as 1-hexene,2031-octene,209 or ally Icy clohexane230 do not undergo reduction in the presence of organosilicon hydrides and strong acids, even under extreme conditions.1,2 For example, when 1-hexene is heated in a sealed ampoule at 140° for 10 hours with triethylsilane and excess trifluoroacetic acid, only a trace of hexane is detected.203 A somewhat surprising exception to this pattern is the formation of ethylcyclohexane in 20% yield upon treatment of vinylcyclohexane with trifluoroacetic acid and triethylsilane.230 Protonation of the terminal carbon is thought to initiate a 1,2-hydride shift that leads to the formation of the tertiary 1-ethyl-1-cyclohexyl cation.230... 

Electrophilic substitution of the ring hydrogen atom in 1,3,4-oxadiazoles is uncommon. In contrast, several reactions of electrophiles with C-linked substituents of 1,3,4-oxadiazole have been reported. 2,5-Diaryl-l,3,4-oxadiazoles are bromi-nated and nitrated on aryl substituents. Oxidation of 2,5-ditolyl-l,3,4-oxadiazole afforded the corresponding dialdehydes or dicarboxylic acids. 2-Methyl-5-phenyl-l,3,4-oxadiazole treated with butyllithium and then with isoamyl nitrite yielded the oxime of 5-phenyl-l,3,4-oxadiazol-2-carbaldehyde. 2-Chloromethyl-5-phenyl-l,3,4-oxadiazole under the action of sulfur and methyl iodide followed by amines affords the respective thioamides. 2-Chloromethyl-5-methyl-l,3,4-oxadia-zole and triethyl phosphite gave a product, which underwent a Wittig reation with aromatic aldehydes to form alkenes. Alkyl l,3,4-oxadiazole-2-carboxylates undergo typical reactions with ammonia, amines, and hydrazines to afford amides or hydrazides. It has been shown that 5-amino-l,3,4-oxadiazole-2-carboxylic acids and their esters decarboxylate. 

Crowe proposed that benzylidene 6 would be stabilised, relative to alkylidene 8, by conjugation of the a-aryl substituent with the electron-rich metal-carbon bond. Formation of metallacyclobutane 10, rather than 9, should then be favoured by the smaller size and greater nucleophilicity of an incoming alkyl-substituted alkene. Electron-deficient alkyl-substituents would stabilise the competing alkylidene 8, leading to increased production of the self-metathesis product. The high trans selectivity observed was attributed to the greater stability of a fra s- ,p-disubstituted metallacyclobutane intermediate. 

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