Boatlike transition structure

TS A chairlike transition structure TS B boatlike transition structure... 

Kinetic studies of the Midland reduction confirmed that the reduction of aldehydes is a bimolecular process and the changes in ketone structure have a marked influence on the rate of the reaction (e.g., the presence of an EWG in the para position of aryl ketones increases the rate compared to an EDG in the same position). However, when the carbonyl compound is sterically hindered, the rate becomes independent of the ketone concentration and the structure of the substrate. The mechanism with sterically unhindered substrates involves a cyclic boatlike transition structure (similar to what occurs in the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction). The favored transition structure has the larger substituent (Rl) in the equatorial position, and this model correctly predicts the absolute stereochemistry of the product. 

The mechanism and stereochemistry of the ortho ester Claisen rearrangement are analogous to those of the Cope rearrangement. The reaction is stereospecific with respect to the double bond present in the initial allylic alcohol. In acyclic molecules, the stereochemistry of the product can usually be predicted on the basis of a chairlike transition state.158 When steric effects or ring geometry preclude a chairlike structure, the reaction can proceed through a boatlike transition state.159... 

A number of theoretical studies have been conducted to understand the mechanism of the Cope rearrangement.16 According to calculations by Houk and co-workers, the chairlike transition state is more stable than the boatlike transition state by 7.8 kcal/mol (Scheme l.XII). When Schleyer and colleagues performed calculations to compute the magnetic properties of the transition-state structures, transition states A and B had a magnetic susceptibility of—55.0 and—56.6, respectively. These values are comparable to that of benezene (—62.9), confirming the existence of an aromatic transition state in the Cope rearrangement. 

Although chorismate mutase does provide a rate enhancement of 2 X 10 (147), this uni-molecular reaction readily occurs without enzyme, under mild conditions. The reaction was expected to pass through a chairlike transition state (59)(Fig. 17.25) but early molecular orbital calculations indicated that the boatlike transition state (60) was not out of the question (147). In an attempt to define the transition-state structure, several compounds, each designed to mimic a putative transition state, were synthesized and tested as chorismate mutase inhibitors (147). The enzyme was found to be inhibited by the exo-carboxy nonane (61), with an apparent value of 3.9 X 10 M Conversely, the endo-carboxy nonane (62) did not inhibit the enzyme. The apparent K- value of the adaman-... 

Figure 2. Diagrammatic representations of the alternative transition state structures and some proposed analogs (a) chair-like transition state structure (b) boatlike transition state structure (c) exo-6-hydroxybicyclo (3.3.1) nonane-1,exo-3-dicarboxylic acid (d) exo-6-hydroxybicyclo (3.3.1) nonane-1,endo-3-dicarboxylic acid, (e) 6-hydroxyadamantane-l,3-dicarboxylic acid.

Relatively few studies of the reactions of allylboronates and ketones have appeared. The reaction of (85) and ethyl pyruvate, for example, was conducted under 6 kbar pressure at 45 C for 80 h to give a 9 1 mixture of diastereomers (86a) and (86b). The stereochemistry of this reaction parallels that seen with crotyl-9 BBN (Figure 10) in that the structure of the major isomer is consistent with a transition state in which the —C02Et unit adopts an equatorial position. The same result could occur, however, via a boatlike transition state with an axial —C02Et group. 

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