Carbon Homolytic cleavage

The reaction is likely to proceed by a radical-chain mechanism, involving intermediate formation of carboxyl radicals, as in the related Kolbe electrolytic synthesis. Initially the bromine reacts with the silver carboxylate 1 to give an acyl hypobromite species 3 together with insoluble silver bromide, which precipitates from the reaction mixture. The unstable acyl hypobromite decomposes by homolytic cleavage of the O-Br bond, to give a bromo radical and the carboxyl radical 4. The latter decomposes further to carbon dioxide and the alkyl radical 5, which subsequently reacts with hypobromite 3 to yield the alkyl bromide 2 and the new carboxyl radical 4Z... 

For a review of homolytic cleavage of carbon-metal bonds, see Barker, P.J. Winter, J.N. in Hartley Patai, Ref. 129, p. 151. 

Hydrogen abstraction — The abstraction of a hydrogen atom H from a saturated carbon atom in a position allylic to the polyene chain can generate a resonance-stabilized neutral radical by homolytic cleavage of a C-H bond CAR = X - H. Then X - H -H R- X + RH. 

The reaction endothermicity establishes a minimum for the activation energy whereas abstraction of a hydrogen atom from carbon is a feasible step in a chain process, abstraction of a hydrogen atom from a hydroxyl group is unlikely. Homolytic cleavage of an O-H bond is likely only if the resulting oxygen radical is stabilized, such as in phenoxy radicals formed from phenols. 

Homolytic cleavage of b—d bond gives a diradrical intermediate. If the centers bearing the unpaired elections in a diradical are well separated (for example by a long carbon chain) there will be little interaction between them and each will act as an independent monoradical function. Usually the centers are close enough for molecular interaction and it eliminates their reaction as separate chemical entities. 

A high carbon monoxide pressure ( 5 atmos.) favours the formation of the butane. Possible mechanisms for its formation include homolytic cleavage of the benzyl-cobalt tetracarbonyl complex and recombination of the radicals to generate 2,3-diphenylbutane and dicobalt octacarbonyl, or a base-catalysed decomposition of the benzylcobalt tetracarbonyl complex (Scheme 8.4). The ethylbenzene and styrene could arise from the phenylethyl radical, or from the n-styrene hydridocobalt tricarbonyl complex. 

A less common reactive species is the Fe peroxo anion expected from two-electron reduction of O2 at a hemoprotein iron atom (Fig. 14, structure A). Protonation of this intermediate would yield the Fe —OOH precursor (Fig. 14, structure B) of the ferryl species. However, it is now clear that the Fe peroxo anion can directly react as a nucleophile with highly electrophilic substrates such as aldehydes. Addition of the peroxo anion to the aldehyde, followed by homolytic scission of the dioxygen bond, is now accepted as the mechanism for the carbon-carbon bond cleavage reactions catalyzed by several cytochrome P450 enzymes, including aromatase, lanosterol 14-demethylase, and sterol 17-lyase (133). A similar nucleophilic addition of the Fe peroxo anion to a carbon-nitrogen double bond has been invoked in the mechanism of the nitric oxide synthases (133). 

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