Alkyl radicals substituted

K. S. Chen, P. J. Krusic, P. Meakin, and J. K. Kochi, /. Phys. Chem., 1974, 78, 2014. This paper reports detailed e.s.r. parameters for a variety of alkyl radicals substituted by one or more fluorine atoms in the a-, j8-, y, and 8-po ition results are discussed in terms of configuration at the a-carbon centre, stable conformations, and barriers to hindered rotation. 

Process I, the rupture of the RO—H bond, appears to be the only significant primary process in the photodecomposition of phenol, alkyl-radical-substituted phenols, and by analogy, the higher molecular weight OH-substituted aromatic hydrocarbons this is shown here for the substituted phenols (R = an H-atom or any alkyl group) ... 

In the studies of Land and Porter (1963) flash photolysis was carried out on 18 different alkyl-radical-substituted phenols with R = CH3, C2H5, tert-C4H9, and/or CeHs in various nonpolar and polar solvents, and the absorption spectra of the corresponding phenoxy radical was observed in all cases. Grabner et al. (1990) made an extensive study of the photochemistry of the methylated phenols in hydrocarbon solvents at 293 K and with A,exdt = 275 nm they determined the quantum yields of fluorescence, triplet molecule formation, and photodecomposition. The quantum yields of photodecomposition of phenol and its 2-methyl-, 3-methyl-, 4-methyl-, 2,6-dimethyl-, 3,5-dimethyl-, 2,4,6-trimethyl-, and 2,3,5-trimethyl-derivatives, as measured through the absorption of the phenoxy radicals formed were 0.13, 0.18, 0.14, 0.08, 0.21, 0.14, 0.20, and 0.18, respectively. Evidence suggested that this photodecomposition occmred from a vibrationally excited triplet state. 

Of the two extremes experimental studies indicate that the planar sp model describes the bonding m alkyl radicals better than the pyramidal sp model Methyl rad ical IS planar and more highly substituted radicals such as tert butyl radical are flattened pyramids closer m shape to that expected for sp hybridized carbon than for sp ... 

The alkylation of pyridine [110-86-1] takes place through nucleophiUc or homolytic substitution because the TT-electron-deficient pyridine nucleus does not allow electrophiUc substitution, eg, Friedel-Crafts alkylation. NucleophiUc substitution, which occurs with alkah or alkaline metal compounds, and free-radical processes are not attractive for commercial appHcations. Commercially, catalytic alkylation processes via homolytic substitution of pyridine rings are important. The catalysts effective for this reaction include boron phosphate, alumina, siHca—alurnina, and Raney nickel (122). 

The effect substitution on the phenolic ring has on activity has been the subject of several studies (11—13). Hindering the phenolic hydroxyl group with at least one bulky alkyl group ia the ortho position appears necessary for high antioxidant activity. Neatly all commercial antioxidants are hindered ia this manner. Steric hindrance decreases the ability of a phenoxyl radical to abstract a hydrogen atom from the substrate and thus produces an alkyl radical (14) capable of initiating oxidation (eq. 18). 

An interesting method for the substitution of a hydrogen atom in rr-electron deficient heterocycles was reported some years ago, in the possibility of homolytic aromatic displacement (74AHC(16)123). The nucleophilic character of radicals and the important role of polar factors in this type of substitution are the essentials for a successful reaction with six-membered nitrogen heterocycles in general. No paper has yet been published describing homolytic substitution reactions of pteridines with nucleophilic radicals such as alkyl, carbamoyl, a-oxyalkyl and a-A-alkyl radicals or with amino radical cations. 

Alkyl radicals produced by oxidative decarboxylation of carboxylic acids are nucleophilic and attack protonated azoles at the most electron-deficient sites. Thus imidazole and 1-alkylimidazoles are alkylated exclusively at the 2-position (80AHC(27)241). Similarly, thiazoles are attacked in acidic media by methyl and propyl radicals to give 2-substituted derivatives in moderate yields, with smaller amounts of 5-substitution. These reactions have been reviewed (74AHC(i6)123) the mechanism involves an intermediate cr-complex. 

Free-radical substitutions of heterocyclic compounds have been carried out with alkyl, aryl, and hydroxyl radicals in solution and with halogen atoms in the gas phase. Of these, arylations have been the most extensively investigated. 

In both compounds there are type (I) azo functions surrounded by alkyl groups and one cyano group. Upon heating, tertiary alkyl radicals and cyano alkyl radicals are formed. These radicals are relatively stable due to hyper conjugation and, in the case of cyano substituted alkyl radicals, to resonance. Therefore, azo groups (I) have a high proneness to thermal decomposition. 

The procedure used in the preceding sections for cyclopropane serves equally well in the analytic determination of the numbers of structure and stereoisomeric compounds which obtain when essentially different radicals of valence one or alkyl radicals are substituted in the basic compound. We have to assume, however, that there is enough information on the basic compound to determine the three groups discussed in Sec. 56. This is certainly the case for the most important basic compounds, benzene and naphthalene. I omit the formulation of rules which are obvious in the preceding example. 

Structurally simple alJkyl halides can sometimes be prepared by reaction of an alkane with Cl2 or Br2 through a radical chain-reaction pathway (Section 5.3). Although inert to most reagents, alkanes react readily with Cl2 or Br2 in the presence of light to give alkyl halide substitution products. The reaction occurs by the radical mechanism shown in Figure 10.1 for chlorination. 

Recall from Section 5.3 that radical substitution reactions require three kinds of steps initiation, propagation, and termination. Once an initiation step has started the process by producing radicals, the reaction continues in a self-sustaining cycle. The cycle requires two repeating propagation steps in which a radical, the halogen, and the alkane yield alkyl halide product plus more radical to carry on the chain. The chain is occasionally terminated by the combination of two radicals. 

There are three sorts of C-H bonds in cyclohexene, and Table 5.3 gives an estimate of their relative strengths. Although a typical secondary alkyl C-H bond has a strength of about 400 kj/mol (96 kcal/mol) and a typical vinylic C-H bond has a strength of 445 kj/mol (106 kcal/mol), ail allylic C-H bond has a strength of only about 360 kj/mol (87 kcal/mol). An allylic radical is therefore more stable than a typical alkyl radical with the same substitution by about 40 kj/mol (9 kcal/mol). 

The traditional means of assessment of the sensitivity of radical reactions to polar factors and establishing the electrophilicity or nucleophilieity of radicals is by way of a Hammett op correlation. Thus, the reactions of radicals with substituted styrene derivatives have been examined to demonstrate that simple alkyl radicals have nucleophilic character38,39 while haloalkyl radicals40 and oxygcn-ccntcrcd radicals " have electrophilic character (Tabic 1.4). It is anticipated that electron-withdrawing substituents (e.g. Cl, F, C02R, CN) will enhance overall reactivity towards nucleophilic radicals and reduce reactivity towards electrophilic radicals. Electron-donating substituents (alkyl) will have the opposite effect. 

The term primary radical used in this context should be distinguished from that used when describing the substitution pattern of alkyl radicals, t For example, in PS the initiator-derived end groups will account for ca 0.2% of units in a sample of molecular weight 100,000 (termination is mainly by combination). 

Thus alkyl radicals do not give unwanted end-group functionality and the kinetics of initiation arc comparatively uncomplicated. However, this situation can be perturbed by substitution at or near the radical center. 

Thiols react more rapidly with nucleophilic radicals than with electrophilic radicals. They have very large Ctr with S and VAc, but near ideal transfer constants (C - 1.0) with acrylic monomers (Table 6.2). Aromatic thiols have higher C,r than aliphatic thiols but also give more retardation. This is a consequence of the poor reinitiation efficiency shown by the phenylthiyl radical. The substitution pattern of the alkanethiol appears to have only a small (<2-fokl) effect on the transfer constant. Studies on the reactions of small alkyl radicals with thiols indicate that the rate of the transfer reaction is accelerated in polar solvents and, in particular, water.5 Similar trends arc observed for transfer to 1 in S polymerization with Clr = 1.4 in benzene 3.6 in CUT and 6.1 in 5% aqueous CifiCN.1 In copolymerizations, the thiyl radicals react preferentially with electron-rich monomers (Section 3.4.3.2). 

Ueno and coworkers10 have found that the facile displacement of sulfonyl group from a-alkylated allyl p-tolyl sulfones 18 by tri-n-butyltin radical in the presence of 2,2 -azobis[2-methylpropanenitrile] (AIBN) occurs smoothly in refluxing benzene (equation 11). In contrast, vinyl sulfones undergo the radical substitution reaction to give vinylstannanes in the presence of AIBN at a higher temperature11. 

A5-hexenyl substituent, extensive cyclization occurs to yield the cyclopentylcarbinyl product from the yields of uncyclized and cyclized products for A5-hexenylmercury chloride, the rate constants for equation 50 have been estimated (vide supra). The SH2 reaction 49 has also been invoked to be the key step in the alkylation of -substituted styrenes by a free-radical addition-elimination sequence, namely96... 

The low reactivity of alkyl and/or phenyl substituted organosilanes in reduction processes can be ameliorated in the presence of a catalytic amount of alkanethiols. The reaction mechanism is reported in Scheme 5 and shows that alkyl radicals abstract hydrogen from thiols and the resulting thiyl radical abstracts hydrogen from the silane. This procedure, which was coined polarity-reversal catalysis, has been applied to dehalogenation, deoxygenation, and desulfurization reactions.For example, 1-bromoadamantane is quantitatively reduced with 2 equiv of triethylsilane in the presence of a catalytic amount of ferf-dodecanethiol. 

Homolytic aromatic substitution often requires high temperatures, high concentrations of initiator, long reaction times and typically occurs in moderate yields.Such reactions are often conducted under reducing conditions with (TMSlsSiH, even though the reactions are not reductions and often finish with oxidative rearomatization. Reaction (68) shows an example where a solution containing silane (2 equiv) and AIBN (2 equiv) is slowly added (8h) in heated pyridine containing 2-bromopyridine (1 equiv) The synthesis of 2,3 -bipyridine 75 presumably occurs via the formation of cyclohexadienyl radicals 74 and its rearomatization by disproportionation with the alkyl radical from AIBN. ... 

The photo-Kolbe reaction is the decarboxylation of carboxylic acids at tow voltage under irradiation at semiconductor anodes (TiO ), that are partially doped with metals, e.g. platinum [343, 344]. On semiconductor powders the dominant product is a hydrocarbon by substitution of the carboxylate group for hydrogen (Eq. 41), whereas on an n-TiOj single crystal in the oxidation of acetic acid the formation of ethane besides methane could be observed [345, 346]. Dependent on the kind of semiconductor, the adsorbed metal, and the pH of the solution the extent of alkyl coupling versus reduction to the hydrocarbon can be controlled to some extent [346]. The intermediacy of alkyl radicals has been demonstrated by ESR-spectroscopy [347], that of the alkyl anion by deuterium incorporation [344]. With vicinal diacids the mono- or bisdecarboxylation can be controlled by the light flux [348]. Adipic acid yielded butane [349] with levulinic acid the products of decarboxylation, methyl ethyl-... 

Cyclopropylcarbinyl radicals (5) are alkyl radicals but they undergo rapid ring opening to give butenyl radicals." The rate constant for this process has been measured by picosecond radical kinetic techniques to be in the range of 10 M s for the parent to lO Af s for substituted derivatives. This process has been observed in bicyclo[4.1,0]heptan-4-ones. ... 

In addition to the radical ipso-substitution of indolyl sulfones producing stannanes described earlier <96T11329>, Caddick has also reported an approach to fused [l,2-a]indoles based on the intramolecular cyclization of alkyl radicals. Thus, treatment of 112 with BuaSnH leads to the fused ring derivatives 113 (n = 1-4) <96JCS(P1)675>. 

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