Carbon-oxygen bond formation, concerted

Since the disclosures that the thermal dimerizations of acrolein and methyl vinyl ketone provide the 3,4-dihydro-2//-pyrans (1, 2) derived from 4ir and 2Tt participation of the a,3-unsaturated carbonyl compound in a Diels-Alder reaction, an extensive series of related observations have been detailed. This work has been the subject of several comprehensive reviews - - including the Desimoni and Tacco-ni extensive tabular compilation of work through 1974. Consequently, the prior reviews should be consulted for thorough treatments of the mechanism, scope, and applications of the [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions of a,3-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. The [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions of 1-oxa-1,3-butadienes with their 4-it participation in the Diels-Alder reaction exhibit predictable regioselectivity with the preferential or exclusive formation of 2-substituted 3,4-dihydro-2W-pyrans (equation 1). The exceptions to the predicted regioselectivity that have been observed involve the poorly matched [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of an electron-deficient l-oxa-l,3-butadiene with an electron-deficient dienophile, e.g. methyl crotonate or methacrolein. - Rigorous or simplified theoretical treatments of the [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of 1-oxa-1,3-butadienes predict the preferential formation of 2-substituted 3,4-dihy-dro-2f/-pyrans and accommodate the preferred endo approach of the reactants in which the carbon-carbon bond formation is more advanced than carbon-oxygen bond formation, i.e. a concerted but nonsynchronous [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction. ... 

Predictions based on rigorous or simplified theoretical calculations support the formation of the predominant 2-substituted 3,4-dihydro-2//-pyran regioisomer and accommodate a preferred endo approach of the reactants in which the carbon-carbon bond formation is more advanced than carbon-oxygen bond formation, i.e., a concerted but nonsynchronous [4 + 2] cycloaddition.5 15-20 Notable exceptions to the predicted regioselectivity of the Diels-Alder reactions of oxabutadienes have been observed, and without exception the examples have involved the poorly matched reaction of electron-deficient a,/3-unsaturated carbonyl compounds (An-component) with electron-deficient dienophiles (2tt component), e.g., methyl crotonate or methacrolein.5 2122... 

In the discussion of the general base catalyzed addition step above (p. 120) the objection was raised that it was difficult to believe that general base catalysis would be necessary for the addition of water to so reactive a species as a protonated ester. An answer to this objection is implicit in the discussion above of the mechanism of hydrolysis of orthoesters. It appears that the protonated orthoester, which would be the initial product of the simple addition of a molecule of water to a protonated ester, is too reactive a species to exist in aqueous solution, and that carbon-oxygen bond-cleavage is concerted with the transfer of the proton to the orthoester. The formation of a protortated orthoester by the addition of a molecule of water to the conjugate acid of an ester will be even less likely, and it seems entirely reasonable, therefore, that the formation of the neutral orthoester, by a general base catalyzed process, should be the favoured mechanism. 

Two pathways are observed for nucleophile addition to 48 in water (Scheme 49) (i) uncatalyzed nucleophile addition to form the oxygen anion 48 that undergoes rapid protonation (ii) specific acid-catalyzed nucleophile addition. The SDIE on the specific acid-catalyzed addition of solvent and bromide anion to 48 are kH/kD = 0.68 and 1.0, respectively, for reactions in 50/50 (v/v) water trifluoroethanol,67 but a smaller SDIE of kH/kD = 0.41 is observed for the specific acid-catalyzed addition of an aqueous solvent to l.52 The larger SDIE for acid-catalyzed addition of Br to 48 is consistent with a concerted reaction mechanism, in which protonation of oxygen and carbon-bromine bond formation occur in a single step with a rate constant kHBr (Scheme 49). 

Even three decades after its initial discovery, the Sharpless asymmetric dihydrox-ylation (Sharpless AD reaction) of alkenes still stands out as the most versatile alkene difunctionalization process [75] (Scheme 16.27). This reaction converts all kinds of alkenes into the corresponding vicinal diols with very high to excellent enantiomeric excess. Mechanistic discussion on this transformation has been extensive. At present, consensus centers on a concerted [3+2] mechanism with the simultaneous formation of two carbon-oxygen bonds [76]. 

Insertion of oxygen atom from Cpd I into the carbon-carbon double bond with formation of epoxide (Scheme Ic) reveals features characteristic for a concerted process, although formation of radical intermediates is possible in many cases. A unified description of this alternative is also provided by the two-state mechanism of catalysis by Cpd I (see the section on Hydroxylation of hydrocarbons). Essentially, the concerted oxygen insertion represents a low-spin reaction surface, whereas the distinct radical intermediate is formed on the high-spin reaction pathway. In the latter case, the carbon radical may attack the nearby heme nitrogen and modify the heme covalently. This reaction is also an important inactivation pathway of cytochromes P450 during oxidative transformations of terminal double and triple bonds. 

A non-concerted rearrangement can be anticipated (Fig. 4) after complexation there is formation of an oxygen (ROralcohol)-carbon(isocyanate) bond together with a donor-type bond between nitrogen and metal (via Py) the latter bond would then hydrolyzed by the proton (from alcohol) already present around the coordination sphere of the metal. 

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