Alkenes bromine addition

Table 6 3 shows that the effect of substituents on the rate of addition of bromine to alkenes is substantial and consistent with a rate determining step m which electrons flow from the alkene to the halogen Alkyl groups on the carbon-carbon double bond release electrons stabilize the transition state for bromonium ion formation and increase the reaction rate... 

Bromine addition to alkenes is an example of a stereospecific reaction A stereospecific reaction is one m which stereoisomeric starting materials yield products... 

Because vicinal dihalides are prepared by addition of chlorine or bromine to alkenes (Section 6 14) alkenes especially terminal alkenes can serve as starting mate rials for the preparation of alkynes as shown m the following example... 

The stereoselectivity of the radical addition can be explained in terms of a bridged structure similar to that involved in discussion of ionic bromination of alkenes ... 

Based on what we ve seen thus far, a possible mechanism for the reaction of bromine with alkenes might involve electrophilic addition of Br+ to the alkene, giving a carbocation that could undergo further reaction with Br- to yield the dibromo addition product. 

When the allylic cation reacts with Br to complete the electrophilic addition, reaction can occur either at Cl or at C3 because both carbons share the positive charge (Figure 14.4). Thus, a mixture of 1,2- and 1,4-addition products results. (Recall that a similar product mixture was seen for NBS bromination of alkenes in Section 10.4, a reaction that proceeds through an allylic radical.)... 

The other bromine atom comes from another bromine-containing molecule or ion. This is clearly not a problem in reactions with benzylic species since the benzene ring is not prone to such addition reactions. If the concentration is sufficiently low, there is a low probability that the proper species will be in the vicinity once the intermediate forms. The intermediate in either case reverts to the initial species and the allylic substitution competes successfully. If this is true, it should be possible to brominate an alkene in the allylic position without competition from addition, even in the absence of NBS or a similar compound, if a very low concentration of bromine is used and if the HBr is removed as it is formed so that it is not available to complete the addition step. This has indeed been demonstrated. ... 

To account for this very high TRANS stereoselectivity, it has been suggested that addition proceeds via a cyclic bromonium radical (71), analogous to the cyclic bromonium cations involved in the polar addition of bromine to alkenes (p. 180) ... 

Alkynes show the same kind of reactions toward chlorine and bromine that alkenes do They react by addition. 

The solvent has no influence on the stereoselectivity of bromine addition to alkenes (Rolston and Yates, 1969b), but it could have some effect on the regioselectivity, since this latter depends not only on polar but also on steric effects. Obviously, it modified the chemoselectivity. For example, in acetic acid Rolston and Yates find that 2-butenes give 98% dibromides and 2% solvent-incorporated products whereas, in methanol with 0.2 m NaBr, dibromide is only about 40% and methoxybromide 60%. There are no extensive data, however, on the solvent effects on the regio- and chemoselectivity which would allow reliable predictions. 

There are only a few studies of the bromination products of congested alkenes. Such products generally consist of the corresponding allylic bromo-derivatives, which are consistent with /5-proton elimination by the counter-ion from the bromonium ion. For example, the ionic bromination of octamethyl-cyclopentene in CC14 leads exclusively to l,2-di(bromomethyl)hexamethyl-cyclopentene as in Scheme 12 (Mayr et al, 1986). Bromine addition (30) to... 

The ability of solvent to influence the rate of formation and subsequent evolution of the bromonium ion or the 0-bromocarbenium ion as key ionic intermediates formed by bromine addition to alkenes are discussed based on kinetic and stereochemical studies as well as theoretical investigations. 

Ionic reactions of neutral substrates can show large solvent dependence, due to the differential solvent stabilization of the ionic intermediates and their associated dipolar transition states (Reichardt, 1988). This is the case for the electrophilic addition of bromine to alkenes (Ruasse, 1990, 1992 Ruasse et al., 1991) and the bromination of phenol (Tee and Bennett, 1988a), both of which have Grunwald-Winstein m values approximately equal to 1 so that the reactions are very much slower in media less polar than water. Such processes, therefore, would be expected to be retarded or even inhibited by CDs for two reasons (a) the formation of complexes with the CD lowers the free concentrations of the reactants and (b) slower reaction within the microenvironment of the less polar CD cavity (if it were sterically possible). 

As observed with alkenes, bromine addition to sterically hindered dienes shows a peculiar behavior. Highly substituted dienes, existing predominantly in non-planar conformations, often present a chemical reactivity distinctly different from that of planar... 

Table 5. Rate coefficients ( br ) of bromine addition to alkenes 1,55,56 and n-ionization energies (tt-IEv) [134]...

Pyridinium bromide, useful for bromine addition to alkenes and a-substitution on aldehydes and ketones, is dangerous to handle. The polymer analog (XXXXI) is easy to handle... 

Michael Faraday reported in 1821 that chlorine addition to alkenes is Stimulated by sunlightand today this is taken to indicate the involvement of a free radical process (equation 26). Free radical chain mechanisms were proposed in 1927 by Berthoud and Beraneck for the isomerization of stilbene catalyzed by Br2 (equation 27), and by Wachholtz for bromine addition to ethyl maleate (equation 28).Later studies showed inhibition of halogen addition by reaction of the intermediate radicals with oxygen, and a free radical chain mechanism for solution and gas phase halogenations as in equation (26) was shown (equation 29). Kinetic and mechanistic... 

The addition of bromine to alkenes is a rapid, exothermic reaction usually taking place at room temperature. In contrast to chlorination, the rate law in bromination depends on the solvent used. On passing from hydroxylic to nonpolar aprotic solvents, the overall second-order changes to a rate law that is first-order in alkene and second-order in bromine.226 Alkene-bromine complexes with varying compositions were shown to form under reaction conditions3,218,227 228(Scheme 6.5). At low bromine concentration in protic solvents the reaction proceeds via a 1 1 complex (23). A 1 2 alkene-bromine complex (25) is involved at high bromine concentration in nonprotic solvents. The ionic intermediates (24, 26) were shown to exist as contact ion pairs, solvent-separated ions, or dissociated ions. 

Room-temperature ionic liquids may be used as green recyclable alternatives to chlorinated solvents for stereoselective halogenation.577 The bromination of alkenes and alkynes in [bmim][Br] is a/m -stereospecific, whereas that of 1,3-dienes gives selectively the 1,4-addition products. The reactions of arylacetylenes, however, are not selective when carried out in [bmim][PF6]. Tetraethylammonium trichloride, a stable crystalline solid may be used in the chlorination of alkenes and alkynes to afford the products with exclusive anti stereoselectivity.578 It has... 

When chlorination or bromination of alkenes is carried out in the gas phase at high temperature, addition to the double bond becomes less significant and substitution at the allylic position becomes the dominant reaction.153-155 In chlorination studied more thoroughly a small amount of oxygen and a liquid film enhance substitution, which is a radical process in the transformation of linear alkenes. Branched alkenes such as isobutylene behave exceptionally, since they yield allyl-substituted product even at low temperature. This reaction, however, is an ionic reaction.156 Despite the possibility of significant resonance stabilization of the allylic radical, the reactivity of different hydrogens in alkenes in allylic chlorination is very similar to that of alkanes. This is in accordance with the reactivity of benzylic hydrogens in chlorination. 

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