Twisted alkene

In principle cis 2 butene and trans 2 butene may be mterconverted by rotation about the C 2=C 3 double bond However unlike rotation about the C 2—C 3 single bond in butane which is quite fast mterconversion of the stereoisomeric 2 butenes does not occur under normal circumstances It is sometimes said that rotation about a carbon-carbon double bond is restricted but this is an understatement Conventional lab oratory sources of heat do not provide enough energy for rotation about the double bond m alkenes As shown m Figure 5 2 rotation about a double bond requires the p orbitals of C 2 and C 3 to be twisted from their stable parallel alignment—m effect the tt com ponent of the double bond must be broken at the transition state... 

The isomerization of alkenes is believed to take place via an excited state in which the two sp carbons are twisted 90° with respect to one another. This state is referred to as the p (perpendicular) state. This geometry is believed to be the minimum-energy geometry for both the singlet and triplet excited states. 

Aromatic compounds such as toluene, xylene, and phenol can photosensitize cis-trans interconversion of simple alkenes. This is a case in which the sensitization process must be somewhat endothermic because of the energy relationships between the excited states of the alkene and the sensitizers. The photostationary state obtained under these conditions favors the less strained of the alkene isomers. The explanation for this effect can be summarized with reference to Fig. 13.12. Isomerization takes place through a twisted triplet state. This state is achieved by a combination of energy transfer Irom the sensitizer and thermal activation. Because the Z isomer is somewhat higher in energy, its requirement for activation to the excited state is somewhat less than for the E isomer. If it is also assumed that the excited state forms the Z- and -isomers with equal ease, the rate of... 

The C=C group and all four atoms attached to it lie in the same plane and are locked into that arrangement by the resistance to twisting of the TT-bond (Fig. 18.7). Because alkene molecules cannot roll up into a ball as compactly as alkanes or rotate into favorable positions, they cannot pack together as closely as alkanes so alkenes have lower melting points than alkanes of similar molar mass. 

FIGURE 18.7 The Tr-bond (represented by the yellow electron clouds) in an alkene molecule makes the molecule resistant to twisting around a double bond. Consequently, all six atoms (the two C atoms that form the bond and the four atoms attached to them) lie in the same plane. 

The above interaction is suprafacial with respect to one component and antarafacial with respect to the other and is therefore a k2s + n2a] process. A bonding interaction could occur between two pairs of lobes of the same sign, but the nearer alkene molecule would need to twist about its original n bond, and so it will make it geometrically inaccessible. 

For a recent review of the properties of pyramidalized alkenes see Borden (1989). Note that the alkenes discussed in this section are not twisted about the double bond. 

Predicting the outcome of electrophilic additions to alkynes from an extension of alkene reactivity usually works well, and can be applied to halogenations and hydrations. Hydration of an alkyne has a subtle twist, however the product is a ketone This can still be rationalized quite readily, though. 

A number of cis/trans 4,6-dialkyl-2,2-dimethyl-l,3-dioxanes were studied by C NMR spectroscopy (93JOC5251). The C NMR shifts of C -Me groups (Scheme 8) were found to be very sensitive to the 1,3-dioxane conformation [chair form Me(ax) ca. 19 ppm and Me(eq) ca. 30 ppm— pure 30.89 ppm in the twist-boat form both methyl carbons resonate at ca. 25 ppm (pure 24.70 ppm)]. With these values, AG° of the chair to twist-boat equilibrium was calculated (Table IV). For 13a (nitrile), 13b (alkyne), and 13e (methyl ester) (Scheme 8) in CH2CI2, the temperature dependence of the AG° values was determined. Depending on the substituent, small negative or positive entropy terms were found generally the enthalpy term dominates the -AG° value. In the tram isomers 13, the cyano and alkyne substituents favor the chair conformation, but CHO, ester, alkene, and alkyl substituents, respectively, clearly favor the twist-boat conforma-... 

Alkenes strained by twist or r-bond torsion, such as E-cyclooctene, exhibit much lower barriers due to relief of strain in the TS for the oxygen transfer step. While the epoxidation of symmetrically substituted alkenes normally involve a symmetrical approach to the TT-bond, the TSs for epoxidation of E-cyclooctene and E-l-methylcyclooctene exhibit highly asymmetric transition structures. The AAE = 3.3 kcalmol" for E- versus Z-cyclooctene is clearly a reflection of the relative SE of these two medium ring alkenes (16.4 vs 4.2 kcalmol ) ". The classical activation barrier (AE ) for the highly strained bicyclo[3.3.1]non-l-ene is also quite low (Table 10, Figure 26). In these twist-strain alkenes, the approach of the peracid deviates markedly from the idealized spiro approach suggesting fliat this part of the potential energy surface is quite soft. 

Although it is generally accepted that the exo approach to norbomene is favored over the endo, the magnitude of the AAE is rarely measurable experimentally unless some fraction of the endo product can be detected. The exo approach to norbomene is favored over the endo orientation by nearly 3 kcalmol for both PFA and DMDO, while the exo TS for benzonorbomadiene is favored by nearly 5 kcalmol (Figure 27). The preferred exo approach does not appear to result from steric interactions. It is of particular interest that the AE for norbomene is only 0.9 kcalmol greater than that for cyclohexene despite the SE = 19.2 kcalmol" for the strained bicyclic alkene. Thus, in the absence of twist-strain we observe little rate enhancement due to strain energy. 

Another group of compounds that have a twisted double bond are the bicyclic compounds with bridgehead double bonds such as 1,2-norbomene (9) and 1,7-norbornene (10). " It has been found that many compounds, such as 11, which is based on trawi-cyclooctene, may be isolated whereas those based on smaller trauj -cycloalkenes are usually quite unstable. Some evidence for the formation of 9 has been obtained by trapping the product of the dehalogenation of 1,2-diha-lonorbornanes." Here, the simplest view is that the two p orbitals that form the double bond in 9 and 10 are roughly perpendicular to each other. However, pyr-amidalization and rehybridization also are involved. One indication is the reduced localized 7i-orbital population found in the NBO analysis. Whereas normal alkenes have 71 populations of 1.96 e, for 9 with OS = 57 kcal/mol, it is 1.921, and for 10 with OS = 86 kcal/mol, it is 1.896. With 9, the deviations of the a and n orbitals from the line of centers are 24° and 19°, respectively, and with 10, the deviations are 34° and 29°. 

In the case of electrophilic addition, the reactions of tricyclic dienes 1 with several electrophilic reagents have been investigated.1 7 Interestingly, some of these compounds undergo addition reactions with remarkable syn stereoselectivity. For example, the reaction of dimethyl tricy-clo[4.2.2.02,5]deca-3,9-diene-7,8-dicarboxylate with iodine azide solution, prepared in situ from an excess of sodium azide and iodine monochloride, in acetonitrile at — 5 C provided the. yyn-4-azido-3-iodo derivative 2 (Table 1) in 90% yield.1,2,4,6 The formation of the 5,>,n-4-azido-3-iodo derivative 2 is thought to be the first example of a syn addition of iodine azide to an alkene.1,2 The formation of the syn-product is best explained by the twist strain theory,8 according to which the syn transition structure A is favored over the an/7-coplanar transition structure B.1... 

---