Computational studies hydrogen transfer

Since the first use of catalyzed hydrogen transfer, speculations about, and studies on, the mechanism(s) involved have been extensively published. Especially in recent years, several investigations have been conducted to elucidate the reaction pathways, and with better analytical methods and computational chemistry the catalytic cycles of many systems have now been clarified. The mechanism of transfer hydrogenations depends on the metal used and on the substrate. Here, attention is focused on the mechanisms of hydrogen transfer reactions with the most frequently used catalysts. Two main mechanisms can be distinguished (i) a direct transfer mechanism by which a hydride is transferred directly from the donor to the acceptor molecule and (ii) an indirect mechanism by which the hydride is transferred from the donor to the acceptor molecule via a metal hydride intermediate (Scheme 20.3). 

The selectivity of the hydrogen transfer is excellent When employing a catalyst with deuterium at the a-positions of the isopropoxide ligands (17), complete retention of the deuterium was observed. A computational study using the density functional theory comparing the six-membered transition state (as in Scheme 20.3, the direct transfer mechanism) with the hydride mechanism (Scheme 20.3, the hydride mechanism) supported the experimental results obtained [36]. A similar mechanism has been proposed for the MPV alkynylations [37] and cyanations [38]. 

The mechanism for the iridium-catalyzed hydrogen transfer reaction between alcohols and ketones has been investigated, and there are three main reaction pathways that have been proposed (Scheme 4). Pathway (a) involves a direct hydrogen transfer where hydride transfer takes place between the alkoxide and ketone, which is simultaneously coordinated to the iridium center. Computational studies have given support to this mechanism for some iridium catalysts [18]. 

Detailed mechanistic investigations of transfer hydrogenations with Hantzsch ester by means of DFT computational studies were carried out by the groups of Goodman and Himo [42, 43]. 

The second and final example of a computational study of a reaction mechanism that will be considered here is drawn from work carried out by the author s group and serves to illustrate some of the points discussed in the previous section. The reaction in question is the catalytic hydrogenation of ketones by ruthenium(bisphosphine) (diamine) complexes. This reaction was developed by the group of Professor Ryoji Noyori20 and was also studied by the group of Professor Robert Morris. The initial computational work discussed here was a collaboration with Professor Morris. It was motivated by the desire to test the feasibility of a proposed mechanism, involving a key ruthenium dihydride complex, that would transfer a hydride (from Ru) and a proton (from N) in a concerted step to the ketone (Figure 10.9). 

We have discussed recent computational and spectroscopic results on the photoinduced hydrogen transfer and proton transfer chemistry in hydrogen-bonded chromophore-solvent clusters. The interplay of electronic spectroscopy of size-selected clusters and computational studies has led to a remarkably detailed and complete mechanistic picture... 

A particularly thoughtful computational study of chain transfer mechanisms in olefin polymerization catalysis suggests that two distinct pathways exist for (1-hydrogen of a hydrogen from the growing chain to a second olefin, the classical path involving aM-H interaction and a direct transfer in which the metal does not participate directly. Whether a catalyst will display one or the other mechanism is determined by subtle effects that are discussed in detail in the paper.91... 

In a very recent computational study, Diggle et al. have calculated the activation barriers for C(aryl)-X activation (X = H, F, OH, NH, CH3) as 0 (H), 9 (F), 12 (OH), 20 (NH ) and 21.3 kcal mol (CH3), respectively [155]. In comparison, the activation barrier for C(sp3)-H is 6.6 kcal moF [156]. C-X activation occurs under reaction conditions relevant for homogenous catalysis [157], but does not always result in decomposition as C-H activation is often reversible and can be exploited in catalytic transfer hydrogenations involving alcohols [156]. 

Computational studies suggest that the mechanism of the proline catalyzed aldol cyclization is best described by the nucleophilic addition of the neutral enamine to the carbonyl group together with hydrogen transfer from the proline carboxylic acid moiety to the developing alkoxide. A metal-free partial Zimmerman-Traxler-type transition state involving a chair-like arrangement of enamine and carbonyl atoms and the participation of only one proline molecule has been established [118,119]. On the basis of density functional theory (DFT) calculations Cordova and co-workers [120,121] have studied the primary amino acid intermolecular aldol reaction mechanism. They demonstrated that only one amino acid molecule is involved in the... 

In recent years, more examples of the unconventional X-H- M or X-H- H-M hydrogen bonds were found and computational studies were carried out more systematically and using better methods, including in most cases the BSSE correction. The application of the AIM theory to detect BCPs and therefore the presence and nature of bonds also increased significantly. The role of the unconventional hydrogen bonds in several reactions, namely proton transfer, has been emphasized. 

The efficient photodecarboxylation of the keto acids (77) has been studied. The reactions involve the formation of the carbanions (78). Aqueous solutions of fenofibric acid (79) at pH 7.4 show the formation of two intermediates when subjected to laser excitation. The study has indicated that the triplet state of the acid in water is of a jtji type. Photoionization is an important process in the aqueous medium. New photoreactive phenylalanine analogues (80) and (81) have been prepared. These were incorporated into position 5 of the pentapeptide, thymopentin. The resultant derivatives were photolabile and underwent decomposition on irradiation at 365 nm. Computational methods have been used to analyse the photoreactivity of the tryptophan derivative (82). The calculations were directed towards an understanding of the quenching of the fluorescence. The results indicate that hydrogen transfer alone does not quench the fluorescence, but that an aborted decarboxylation path is involved. Proton transfer... 

Both experiments and theory join in the studies of hydrogen transfer reactions. In general, the approach is of two categories. The first involves the study of prototypical but well-defined molecular systems, either under isolated (microscopic) conditions or in complexes or clusters (mesoscopic) vdth the solvent, in the gas phase or molecular beams. Such studies over the past three decades have provided unprecedented resolution of the elementary processes involved in isolated molecules and en route to the condensed phase. Examples include the discovery of a magic solvent number for acid-base reactions, the elucidation of motions involved in double proton transfer, and the dynamics of acid dissociation in finite-sized clusters. For these systems, theory is nearly quantitative, especially as more accurate electronic structure and molecular dynamics computations become available. 

Thus, for reasons of orbital overlap in the transition state, the pseudoaxial hydrogens are most easily transferred. Evidence has not, as yet, been found in support of a boat conformation for coenzyme bound to enzymes. However, a boat conformation in the transition state is consistent with the results of recent computational studies (77). 

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