Concerted pathway

The cyclohexylpyrazole (376) and the azlrlne (377) are formed by irradiation of 3-dlazo-4-methyl-5-phenylpyrazolenine (378) in cyclohexane (Scheme 35) (77JA633). The former is the result of carbene insertion into cyclohexane followed by a [1,5] hydrogen shift, whereas the latter arises by ring cleavage of nltrene (379) or by a concerted pathway. 

Symmetry-allowed, symmetry-disallowed (Section 30.2) A symmetry-allowed reaction is a pericyclic process that lias a favorable orbital symmetry for reaction through a concerted pathway. A symmetry-disallowed reaction is one that does not have favorable orbital symmetry for reaction through a concerted pathway. 

Certain acetals, however, decompose by a concerted pathway ... 

The nature of the initial bond cleavage (homolytic, heterolytic, or by a concerted pathway) cannot be generalized because it depends on substituent effects and/or reaction conditions. 

FIGURE 6.10. Comparing the energetics of the EVB configurations in solution and in the active site of lysozyme. The calculations were done by using the PDLD and related models (Refs. 6 and 7) and they represent a study of a stepwise mechanism. The energetics of a more concerted pathway (e.g., that of Fig. 6.9) is almost identical to that of the stepwise mechanism and correlated in a similar way with the electrostatic effect of the protein. 

Dihydrothiophene-1,1-dioxides (42) and 2,17-dihydrothiepin-1,1-dioxides (43) undergo analogous 1,4 and 1,6 eliminations, respectively (see also 17-38). These are concerted reactions and, as predicted by the orbital-symmetry rules (p. 1067), the former is a suprafacial process and the latter an antarafacial process. The rules also predict that elimination of SO2 from episulfones cannot take place by a concerted mechanism (except antarafacially, which is unlikely for such a small ring), and the evidence shows that this reaction occurs by a non-concerted pathway.The eliminations of SO2 from 42 and 43 are examples of cheletropic reactions, which are defined as reactions in which two a bonds that terminate at a single atom (in this case the sulfur atom) are made or broken in concert. 

Although the orbital-symmetry rules predict the stereochemical results in almost all cases, it is necessary to recall (p. 1070) that they only say what is allowed and what is forbidden, but the fact that a reaction is allowed does not necessarily mean that the reaction takes place, and if an allowed reaction does take place, it does not necessarily follow that a concerted pathway is involved, since other pathways of lower energy may be available.Furthermore, a forbidden reaction might still be made to go, if a method of achieving its high activation energy can be found. This was, in fact, done for the cyclobutene butadiene interconversion (cis-3,4-dichloro-cyclobutene gave the forbidden cis.cis- and rran.y, ra i -l,4-dichloro-1,3-butadienes,... 

In principle, the triplet state of ketones could react in either of two modes to produce the product ketone and olefin. These are via a concerted pathway or by a distinct diradical species ... 

Similar results were obtained for the decomposition of phenylazotriphenyl-methane however, the lack of viscosity effect on the decomposition of azocumene suggests this process to be concerted. Other reports<9> also indicate symmetrically substituted azo compounds to decompose thermally by a concerted pathway. 

The fact that only one cyclopropanone is produced in the photolysis of the above enone may indicate that the rearrangement occurs by a concerted pathway.(4B,46)... 

There is on the other hand a great deal of evidence showing that the electrochemical reduction of 1,2-dihalides to olefins can occur via a concerted pathway, i.e., via a transition state (39) in which both carbon-halogen bonds are partially broken and the carbon-carbon double bond is partially formed. An important, indeed critical, point of evidence supporting the conclusion that reduction is concerted lies in the remarkable ease with which vicinal dihalides are reduced. For example, the half-wave potentials of ethyl bromide and 1,2-dibromoethane are -2.08 V and -1.52 V (vs. s.c.e.), respectively 15 >46) those of ethyl iodide and /J-chloroethyl iodide are -1.6 V and -0.9 V, respectively 47). These very large differences must reflect the lower energy of delocalized transition state 39 relative to the transition state for reduction of an alkyl monohalide. 

The above general, idealised rate law is compatible with at least three different potential pathways for nitration one-step, concerted pathway [1] that involves a single transition state (5),... 

Diels-Alder reactions are found to be little influenced by the introduction of radicals (cf. p. 300), or by changes in the polarity of the solvent they are thus unlikely to involve either radical or ion pair intermediates. They are found to proceed stereoselectively SYN with respect both to the diene and to the dienophile, and are believed to take place via a concerted pathway in which bond-formation and bond-breaking occur more or less simultaneously, though not necessarily to the same extent, in the transition state. This cyclic transition state is a planar, aromatic type, with consequent stabilisation because of the cyclic overlap that can occur between the six p orbitals of the constituent diene and dienophile. Such pericyclic reactions are considered further below (p. 341). 

The factors that influence elimination v. substitution are discussed subsequently (p. 260). Evidence for the involvement of C—H bond fission in the rate-limiting step—as a concerted pathway requires— is provided by the observation of a primary kinetic isotope effect (cf. p. 46) when H is replaced by D on the ft-carbon. 

Whether a particular reaction proceeds via a single step, concerted pathway, or in more than one step via a biradical or bipolar... 

This is confirmatory evidence of a concerted pathway, implying as it does the simultaneous formation of both new a bonds in the T.S. That both new bonds are not necessarily formed to the same extent in the T.S. is, however, suggested by the fact that the reaction is markedly influenced by the electronic effect of substituents. It is found to be promoted by electron-donating substituents in the diene, and by... 

The 4ne component in a (4tc + 2n) cycloaddition need be neither a four-atom system (as in 1,3-dienes), nor involve carbon atoms only, so long as the HOMO/LUMO symmetry requirements for a concerted pathway can be fulfilled. The most common of these non-dienic 4ne systems involve three atoms, and have one or more dipolar canonical structures, e.g. (34a), hence the term—1,3-dipolar addition. They need not, however, possess a large permanent, i.e. residual, dipole, cf. diazomethane (34a 34f>) ... 

The hetero Diels -Alder reaction is a useful method for constructing six-membered ring systems containing hetero-atoms. TiIV compounds with mild Lewis acidity promote the reactions well (Scheme 26) " it has been proposed that these reactions proceed via a concerted pathway."... 

Thus BCP seems to follow two competitive pathways in the cycloaddition with dienes (i) a stepwise diradical process giving the [2 + 2] adduct, or (ii) a concerted pathway giving the [4 + 2] adduct. Accordingly, the proportion of the latter increases with the reactivity of diene in Diels-Alder reactions. Conversely, the reaction with 2,3-dicyanobutadiene (529), generated in situ by electrocyclic ring-opening of 1,2-dicyanoeyelobutene [142], furnishes selectively the [2 + 2] cycloadduct 530 (Table 42, entry 4) due to the presence of substituents able to stabilize the diradical intermediate [13b],... 

The demonstration that formation of the nucleophile adduct R-Nu results in the same proportional decrease in the yields of the alkene and solvent adducts, so that the ratio of the yields of these reaction products is independent of [Nu-]. If the solvolysis and elimination reactions proceed by competing stepwise and concerted pathways, respectively, then the yield of R-OSolv will decrease with increasing trapping of the carbocation intermediate by added nucleophile, while the yield of alkene from elimination will remain constant, so that the ratio [R-OSolv]/[Alkene] will decrease as [Nu ] is increased. 

From examination of Fig. 11, it is inferred that the zn-n state is less reactive, and a biradical mechanism should be the major reaction pathway. The degenerate stabilizing perturbation of the bonding levels is missing, and concerted pathways are not likely if stabilized only by much smaller secondary interactions. If the hi-n singlet state could be intercepted in some way, the all-suprafacial concerted mechanism would be favored [K(ji ) -0(jr )] relative to the suprafacial-antarafacial mechanism [O(tt) - -K( i )]. 

An enantioselective imino-ene reaction was developed by Lectka to provide ct-amino acid derivatives.27 Aryl alkenes (cr-methyl styrene, tetralene), aliphatic alkenes (methylene cyclohexane), and heteroatom-containing enes, all gave high yields and high ee s of the homoallylic amides (Equation (17)). The mechanism of this reaction has been proposed to proceed through a concerted pathway. This mechanism is evidenced by a large kinetic isotope effect observed in the transfer of H(D). 

Ogliaro F, Harris N, Cohen S, et al. A model rebound mechanism of hydroxylation by cytochrome P450 stepwise and effectively concerted pathways, and their reactivity patterns. J Am Chem Soc 2000 122(37) 8977-8989. 

Modes of cycloaddition of alkylideneallyl cation are also controlled by the reaction conditions. [4 + 3] Cycloaddition occurs in the reaction with furan. The [4 + 3] cycloaddition with furan was observed for the siloxy-substituted allyl cation 5S, but not for the methoxy-substituted allyl cation 5M. The lower electrophilicity of 5S may prefer the concerted pathway of [4 + 3] cycloaddition in competition with the stepwise pathway to yield a [3 + 2] cycloadduct and an electrophilic substitution product. 

FIGURE 3.1 8. Competition between a stepwise pathway, involving successively a n radical and a a radical (upper pathway), and a concerted pathway involving a a radical (lower pathway). 

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