Biradicals analysis

Observation of the polarization effects of the reaction product, germacyclopropene 22, confirms its formation from paramagnetic precursors. However, in the case under study, one could hardly imagine the generation of a radical pair, and therefore it is reasonable to suggest that the intermediate step of the insertion of 16 into the triple bond of thiacycloheptyne 21 involves the formation of a 1,3-biradical. Analysis of the observed proton polarization effects (Table 8 and Figure 16) in accordance with the existing rules allows us to propose the reaction mechanism in Scheme 11. 

The combination is in this case an out-of-phase one (Section I). This biradical was calculated to be at an energy of 39.6 kcal/mol above CHDN (Table ni), and to lie in a real local minimum on the So potential energy surface. A normal mode analysis showed that all frequencies were real. (Compare with the prebenzvalene intermediate, discussed above. The computational finding that these species are bound moieties is difficult to confimi experimentally, as they are highly reactive.)... 

Varions possibilities were considered for the nnderlying reaction of the biradical. No radical signals grew when the biradical decayed, so H-abstraction from the matrix did not appear to be occnrring. Analysis of products formed from irradiations of 8 at 5.5 K showed both bicyclopentane 10 and cyclopentene, in a ratio of 30 1. Very similar ratios, ca. 25 1, were observed in solution irradiations at room temperature. It was noted that if the major tnnneling reaction was H-shift to produce cyclopentene, this product should be enhanced as temperatnres were lowered, in contrast to the experimental observations. Hence, it was conclnded that the observed decay of the EPR spectrum of 9 was due to ring closure to give 10. 

If triplet stilbene were formed in this way, analysis of the product ratio of steroisomers should indicate a 60 40 ratio. In fact, however, the stilbene produced was found to be about 99% trans although the reaction is about 50 kcal exothermic, enough energy to produce the triplet stilbene conceitedly. Thus it appears that the triplet cleavage prefers to go through a biradical intermediate even when a concerted process is energetically possible.<91>... 

The enthalpy changes associated with proton transfer in the various 4, -substituted benzophenone contact radical ion pairs as a function of solvent have been estimated by employing a variety of thermochemical data [20]. The effect of substituents upon the stability of the radical IP were derived from the study of Arnold and co-workers [55] of the reduction potentials for a variety of 4,4 -substituted benzophenones. The effect of substituents upon the stability of the ketyl radical were estimated from the kinetic data obtained by Creary for the thermal rearrangement of 2-aryl-3,3-dimethylmethylenecyclopropanes, where the mechanism for the isomerization assumes a biradical intermediate [56]. The solvent dependence for the energetics of proton transfer were based upon the studies of Gould et al. [38]. The details of the analysis can be found in the original literature [20] and only the results are herein given in Table 2.2. 

The thermal isomerizations of other bicyclic systems containing a cyclobutane ring appear not to have been investigated kinetically in detail, with the exception of a-and )3-pinene. These isomerizations all probably proceed through allylically stabilized biradicals, but the systems are complex and the studies were carried out well before the advent of modem analjrtical techniques of gas analysis. It is doubtful therefore whether a detailed discussion is worth while before more precise data are available (see Trotman-Dickenson, 1955). 

Scheme 3 shows the mechanism for the thietane formation, in which the six-membered 1,4-biradical BR is appropriate. There are two ways of cyclization to thietane 2, and each pathway gives an enantiomeric structure of thietanes, (1S,4R)- or (lR,4S)-2, respectively. The absolute structure of (-)-(M)-la and the major isomer (- -)-(lS,4R)-2a was determined by X-ray structural analysis using... 

Unusual fragmentation reactions for thietanium salts have been observed. Their analysis may reveal more information about the influence of d-orbitals in the reaction mechanisms of organosulfur compounds. Alkylation of certain thietanes leads to 5-methylthietanonium salts. The thietanium salt 193, which is formed from 2,4-dimethylthietane and (CH3)30" BF4, breaks up when treated with n-butyllithium into a reactive biradical and its resulting cyclopropane and a thioether. 

The products of the thermolysis of 3-phenyl-5-(arylamino)-l,2,4-oxadiazoles and thiazoles have been accounted for by a radical mechanism.266 Flash vacuum pyrolysis of 1,3-dithiolane-1-oxides has led to thiocarbonyl compounds, but the transformation is not general.267 hi an ongoing study of silacyclobutane pyrolysis, CASSF(4,4), MR-CI and CASSCF(4,4)+MP2 calculations using the 3-21G and 6-31G basis sets have modelled the reaction between silenes and ethylene, suggesting a cyclic transition state from which silacyclobutane or a trcins-biradical are formed.268 An AMI study of the thermolysis of 1,3,3-trinitroazacyclobutane and its derivatives has identified gem-dinitro C—N bond homolysis as the initial reaction.269 Similar AMI analysis has determined the activation energy of die formation of NCh from methyl nitrate.270 Thermal decomposition of nitromethane in a shock tube (1050-1400 K, 0.2-40 atm) was studied spectrophotometrically, allowing determination of rate constants.271... 

The photolysis of aromatic species with tetranitromethane in perfluoro alcohol solvent has been studied, in which the radical cations were observed by EPR spectroscopy.284 Photo-stimulated reaction of 1- and 2-haloadamantanes and 1,2- and 1,3-dihaloadamantanes with various carbanionic nucleophiles afforded products rationalized through an SrnI mechanism.285 286 Photolysis of the cycloadduct formed between a functionalized derivative of C6o and diazomethane has been shown to afford a pah of ling-opened structures (125) and (126) via a proposed biradical intermediate (127) (Scheme 19). The UV-photolytic fragments of /-butyl iodide (T and /-Bu ) have been ionized by resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization for TOF mass spectro-metric analysis.287 A two-dimensional position-sensitive detector provided angular distribution and translational energy data. 

The absolute structure of (-)-(M)-39 and the major isomer (+)-(IS, 4R)-4( was determined by X-ray structural analysis using an anomalous scattering method (Figure 4-a and Figure 4-b). Figure 5 shows the superimposed structure of both absolute structures which was drawn with the overlay program included in CSC Chem3D. The sulfur and the alkenyl carbon atoms are closely placed to make the C-S bond easily, and subsequent cyclization of biradical BR needs the rotation of the radical center like path a to yield (1S,4R)-40. The molecular transformation from (-)-39 to (+)-40 needs... 

Pyrolysis of acetylene to a mixture of aromatic hydrocarbons has been the subject of many studies, commencing with the work of Berthelot in 1866 (1866a, 1866b). The proposed mechanisms have ranged from formation of CH fragments by fission of acetylene (Bone and Coward, 1908) to free-radical chain reactions initiated by excitation of acetylene to its lowest-lying triplet state (Palmer and Dormisch, 1964 Palmer et al., 1966) and polymerization of monomeric or dimeric acetylene biradicals (Minkoff, 1959 see also Cullis et al., 1962). Photosensitized polymerization of acetylene and acetylene-d2 and isotopic analysis of the benzene produced indicated involvement of both free-radical and excited state mechanisms (Tsukuda and Shida, 1966). 

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