Conjugation carbocations

Chapter 1 by H.-U. Siehl discusses parallel stable ion NMR spectroscopic and computational studies on various classes of silyl-substituted carbocations. Chapter 2 by K. Komatsu focuses on unusually stable n-conjugated carbocations that are formed as a result of annelation to bicyclic frameworks. 

A satisfactory linear relationship has been found to exist between the pKr. values of a series of conjugated carbocations, including thiopyrylium (2), and their rr-electron localization energies calculated by HMO... 

Shown in the margin are some dramatic rate effects that were measured under conditions that assist SnI pathways, with only a small fraction of an Sn2 pathway. Substitution of a hydrogen by a methyl on isopropyl chloride gave a 5.5 X lO increase in rate. Substitution of a methyl by a phenyl gives a 4.6 X 10 enhancement. As another series of examples, the relative rates of solvolysis of PhCHaCl, Ph2CHCl, and PhsCCl in mixtures of diethylether/ethanol are 1,1.75 X 10 and 2.5 X 10, respectively. Thus, the addition of phenyl rings dramatically stabilizes conjugated carbocations. 

Step 3 IS new to us It is an acid-base reachon m which the carbocation acts as a Br0n sted acid transferrmg a proton to a Brpnsted base (water) This is the property of carbo cations that is of the most significance to elimination reactions Carbocations are strong acids they are the conjugate acids of alkenes and readily lose a proton to form alkenes Even weak bases such as water are sufficiently basic to abstract a proton from a carbocation... 

We can gam a general understanding of the mechanism of hydrogen halide addi tion to alkenes by extending some of the principles of reaction mechanisms introduced earlier In Section 5 12 we pointed out that carbocations are the conjugate acids of alkenes Therefore strong acids such as HCI HBr and HI can protonate the double bond of an alkene to form a carbocation... 

Not all the properties of alkenes are revealed by focusing exclusively on the func tional group behavior of the double bond A double bond can affect the proper ties of a second functional unit to which it is directly attached It can be a sub stituent for example on a positively charged carbon in an allylic carbocation, or on a carbon that bears an unpaired electron in an allylic free radical, or it can be a substituent on a second double bond in a conjugated diene... 

Conjugare is a Latin verb meaning to link or yoke together and allylic carbocations allylic free radicals and conjugated dienes are all examples of conjugated systems In this chapter we 11 see how conjugation permits two functional units within a molecule to display a kind of reactivity that is qualitatively different from that of either unit alone... 

Allylic carbocations and allylic radicals are conjugated systems involved as reactive intermediates m chemical reactions The third type of conjugated system that we will examine conjugated dienes, consists of stable molecules... 

Section 10 10 Protonation at the terminal carbon of a conjugated diene system gives an allylic carbocation that can be captured by the halide nucleophile at either of the two sites that share the positive charge Nucleophilic attack at the carbon adjacent to the one that is protonated gives the product of direct addition (1 2 addition) Capture at the other site gives the product of conjugate addition (1 4 addition)... 

The carbocation is aromatic the hydrocarbon is not Although cycloheptatriene has six TT electrons m a conjugated system the ends of the triene system are separated by an sp hybridized carbon which prevents continuous tt electron delocalization... 

Step 5 The nitrogen stabilized carbocation is the conjugate acid of the imine Proton transfer to water gives the imine... 

Electrophilic Addition. In the following example, an a-olefin reacts with a Lewis acid to form the most stable intermediate carbocation. This species, in turn, reacts with the conjugate base to produce the final product. Thus electrophilic addition follows Markovnikov s rule. 

Molecular orbital calculations predict that oxirane forms the cyclic conjugate acid (39), which is 30 kJ moF stabler than the open carbocation (40) and must surmount a barrier of 105kJmoF to isomerize to (40) (78MI50500). The proton affinity of oxirane was calculated (78JA1398) to be 807 kJ mol (cf. the experimental values of 773 kJ moF for oxirane and 777-823 kJ moF for dimethyl ether (80MI50503)). The basicity of cyclic ethers is discussed in (B-67MI50504). 

TT-Conjugating groups tend to favor attack at C, but the ratio of Ca. C attack depends strongly on a balance of steric and electronic factors arising from both substituent and nucleophile (Table 4). The results can be rationalized, to a first approximation, by assuming that with good vr-donors stabilization of the incipient carbocation in (50) offsets steric hindrance. 

The triarylmethyl cations are particularly stable because of the conjugation with the aryl groups, which delocalizes the positive charge. Because of their stability and ease of generation, the triarylmethyl cations have been the subject of studies aimed at determining the effect of substituents on carbocation stability. Many of these studies used the characteristic UV absorption spectra of the cations to determine their concentration. In acidic solution, equilibrium is established between triarylearbinols and the corresponding carbocations. 

Stabilization of a carbocation intermediate by benzylic conjugation, as in the 1-phenylethyl system shown in entry 8, leads to substitution with diminished stereosped-ficity. A thorough analysis of stereochemical, kinetic, and isotope effect data on solvolysis reactions of 1-phenylethyl chloride has been carried out. The system has been analyzed in terms of the fate of the intimate ion-pair and solvent-separated ion-pair intermediates. From this analysis, it has been estimated that for every 100 molecules of 1-phenylethyl chloride that undergo ionization to an intimate ion pair (in trifluoroethanol), 80 return to starting material of retained configuration, 7 return to inverted starting material, and 13 go on to the solvent-separated ion pair. 

A significant modification in the stereochemistry is observed when the double bond is conjugated with a group that can stabilize a carbocation intermediate. Most of the specific cases involve an aryl substituent. Examples of alkenes that give primarily syn addition are Z- and -l-phenylpropene, Z- and - -<-butylstyrene, l-phenyl-4-/-butylcyclohex-ene, and indene. The mechanism proposed for these additions features an ion pair as the key intermediate. Because of the greater stability of the carbocations in these molecules, concerted attack by halide ion is not required for complete carbon-hydrogen bond formation. If the ion pair formed by alkene protonation collapses to product faster than reorientation takes place, the result will be syn addition, since the proton and halide ion are initially on the same side of the molecule. 

With 1-phenyl-1,3-butadiene, the addition is exclusively at the 3,4-double bond. This reflects the greater stability of this product, which retains styrene-type conjugation. Initial protonation at C-4 is favored by the feet that the resulting carbocation benefits from both allylic and ben2ylic stabilization. 

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