Allyl radical stability

The di-f-butylhydroxylamine and di-/-butylhydroxylamine ethers probably result from DTBN scavenging of radicals produced by hydrogen atom abstraction from the olefins by excited 3-ethoxyisoindolenone (50). The observed destruction of DTBN as a function of olefin structure is consistent with this mechanism. Based upon allyl radical stability and the statistical factor, excited 3-ethoxyisoindolenone should abstract hydrogen atoms more rapidly from tetraroethylethylene than from ds-2-butene. 

The first radical is an allylic radical, stabilized by conjugation with the remaining alkene in the old butadiene molecule. Addition could now occur to another butadiene or to styrene. 

The chain reaction is initiated by abstraction of an allylic hydrogen to give an allylic radical stabilized by delocalization over three or more carbons. The initiator is a free radical, most probably produced by decomposition of hydroperoxides already present or produced by photooxidation. The decomposition may be thermal, but it is more likely promoted by traces of variable redox state metal ions. Autoxidation is characterized by an induction period during which the concentration of free radicals increases until the autocatalytic propagation steps become dominant. During the induction period, there is little increase in oxidation products. 

Stabilizing resonances also occur in other systems. Some well-known ones are the allyl radical and square cyclobutadiene. It has been shown that in these cases, the ground-state wave function is constructed from the out-of-phase combination of the two components [24,30]. In Section HI, it is shown that this is also a necessary result of Pauli s principle and the permutational symmetry of the polyelectronic wave function When the number of electron pairs exchanged in a two-state system is even, the ground state is the out-of-phase combination [28]. Three electrons may be considered as two electron pairs, one of which is half-populated. When both electron pahs are fully populated, an antiaromatic system arises ("Section HI). 

Just as allyl cation is stabilized by electron delocalization so is allyl radical... 

The degree to which allylic radicals are stabilized by delocalization of the unpaired electron causes reactions that generate them to proceed more readily than those that give simple alkyl radicals Compare for example the bond dissociation energies of the pri mary C—H bonds of propane and propene... 

Breaking a bond to a primary hydrogen atom m propene requires less energy by 42 kJ/mol (10 kcal/mol) than m propane The free radical produced from propene is allylic and stabilized by electron delocalization the one from propane is not... 

We attributed the decreased bond dissociation energy in propene to stabilization of allyl radical by electron delocalization Similarly electron delocalization stabilizes benzyl rad ical and weakens the benzylic C—H bond... 

Resonance theory can also account for the stability of the allyl radical. For example, to form an ethylene radical from ethylene requites a bond dissociation energy of 410 kj/mol (98 kcal/mol), whereas the bond dissociation energy to form an allyl radical from propylene requites 368 kj/mol (88 kcal/mol). This difference results entirely from resonance stabilization. The electron spin resonance spectmm of the allyl radical shows three, not four, types of hydrogen signals. The infrared spectmm shows one type, not two, of carbon—carbon bonds. These data imply the existence, at least on the time scale probed, of a symmetric molecule. The two equivalent resonance stmctures for the allyl radical are as follows ... 

Reaction Mechanism. High temperature vapor-phase chlorination of propylene [115-07-17 is a free-radical mechanism in which substitution of an allyhc hydrogen is favored over addition of chlorine to the double bond. Abstraction of allyhc hydrogen is especially favored since the allyl radical intermediate is stabilized by resonance between two symmetrical stmctures, both of which lead to allyl chloride. 

The stabilizing effects of vinyl groups (in allylic radicals) and phenyl groups (in benzyl radicals) are very significant and can be satisfactorily rationalized in resonance terminology ... 

A comparison of the rotational barriers in allylic radicals A-D provides evidence for the stabilizing effect of the capto-dative combination ... 

According to these data, which structural features provide stabilization of radial centers Determine the level of agreement between these data and the radical stabilization energies given in Table 12.7 if the standard C—H bond dissociation energy is taken to be 98.8 kcal/mol. (Compare the calculated and observed bond dissociation energies for the benzyl, allyl, and vinyl systems.)... 

Ketones in which the double bond is located in the p,y position are likely candidates for a-cleavage because of the stability of the allyl radical that is formed. This is an important process on direct irradiation. Products then arise by recombination of the radicals or by recombination after decarbonylation. 

The chain propagation step consists of a reaction of allylic radical 3 with a bromine molecule to give the allylic bromide 2 and a bromine radical. The intermediate allylic radical 3 is stabilized by delocalization of the unpaired electron due to resonance (see below). A similar stabilizing effect due to resonance is also possible for benzylic radicals a benzylic bromination of appropriately substituted aromatic substrates is therefore possible, and proceeds in good yields. 

The allylic resonance may give rise to formation of a mixture of isomeric allylic bromides, e.g. 6 and 8 from but-l-ene. The product ratio depends on the relative stability of the two possible allylic radical species 5 and 7 ... 

We can thus expand the stability ordering to include vinylic and allylic radicals. 

In molecular orbital terms, the stability of the allyl radical is due to the fact that the unpaired electron is delocalized, or spread out, over an extended 7T orbital network rather than localized at only one site, as shown by the computer-generated MO in Fig 10.3. This delocalization is particularly apparent in the so-called spin density surface in Figure 10.4, which shows the calculated location, of the unpaired electron. The two terminal carbons share the unpaired electron equally. 

In addition to its effect on stability, delocalization of the unpaired electron in the allyl radical has other chemical consequences. Because the unpaired electron is delocalized over both ends of the nr orbital system, reaction with Br2 can occur at either end. As a result, allylic bromination of an unsymmetrical alkene often leads to a mixture of products. For example, bromination of 1-octene gives a mixture of 3-bromo-l-octene and l-bromo-2-octene. The two products are not formed in equal amounts, however, because the intermediate allylic radical is... 

Simple alkyl halides can be prepared by radical halogenation of alkanes, but mixtures of products usually result. The reactivity order of alkanes toward halogenation is identical to the stability order of radicals R3C- > R2CH- > RCH2-. Alkyl halides can also be prepared from alkenes by reaction with /V-bromo-succinimide (NBS) to give the product of allylic bromination. The NBS bromi-nation of alkenes takes place through an intermediate allylic radical, which is stabilized by resonance. 

We saw in Section 6.9 that the stability order of alkyl carbocations is 3° > 2° > 1° > —CH3. To this list we must also add the resonance-stabilized allvl and benzyl cations. Just as allylic radicals are unusually stable because the... 

Problem 16.20 Refer to Table 5.3 on page 156 for a quantitative idea of the stability of a benzyl radical. How much more stable (in kj/mol) is the benzyl radical than a primary alkyl radical How does a benzyl radical compare in stability to an allyl radical ... 

The allyl radical is better stabilized by resonance with the adjacent double bond than the cyanomethylene radical and is, therefore, less reactive. 

This is generally attributed to resonance stabilization of the allylic radical ... 

Matrix IR spectra of various silenes are important analytical features and allow detection of these intermediates in very complex reaction mixtures. Thus, the vibrational frequencies of Me2Si=CH2 were used in the study of the pyrolysis mechanism of allyltrimethylsilane [120] (Mal tsev et al., 1983). It was found that two pathways occur simultaneously for this reaction (Scheme 6). On the one hand, thermal destruction of the silane [120] results in formation of propylene and silene [117] (retroene reaction) on the other hand, homolytic cleavage of the Si—C bond leads to the generation of free allyl and trimethylsilyl radicals. While both the silene [117] and allyl radical [115] were stabilized and detected in the argon matrix, the radical SiMc3 was unstable under the pyrolysis conditions and decomposed to form low-molecular products. 

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