Cyclization, radicals electronic effects

In this analysis, the activation barrier for both C1-C6 and C1-C5 cyclizations of enediyne radical-anions can be described as the avoided crossing between the out-of-plane and in-plane MOs (configurations). One-electron reduction populates the out-of-plane LUMO of the enediyne moiety. At the TS (the crossing), the electron is transferred between the orthogonal re-systems to the new (in-plane) LUMO. This effect leads to the accelerated cyclization of radical-anions of benzannelated enediynes, a large sensitivity of this reaction to re-conjugative effects of remote substituents and the fact that this selectivity is inverse compared to that of the Bergman cyclization. Similar electronic effects should apply to the other reductive cyclization reactions that were mentioned in the introduction. 

In the case of 6-trimethylsilyl-6-hepten-2-one, the 6-c /n-cyclization product was obtained exclusively, probably due to steric inhibition of 5-cxn-cyclization and electronic effects favoring radical formation in the 6-cwr/o-cyclization [Eq. (43)] [180]. 

Entry 11 involves generation and cyclization of an alkoxymethyl radical from a selenide. The cyclization mode is the anticipated 5-exo with a cis ring juncture. This is a case in which the electronic characteristics of the radical are not particularly favorable (ERG oxygen in the radical), but cyclization nevertheless proceeds readily. The reaction in Entry 12 was used to prepare a precursor of epibatidine. Entry 13 shows a 6-endo cyclization that is favored by steric factors. The 6-endo cyclization is also favored with a tetrahydropyranyloxy substituent in place of the ester, indicating that the electronic effect is not important. Entries 14 to 16 involve acyl radicals generated from selenides. The preferred 6-endo cyclization in Entry 15 is thought to be due to the preference for the less-substituted end of the double bond. Entry 17 is an example of a 5-exo-dig cyclization. 

Limited examples of substituted alkyl radical clocks are available. Fortunately, some calibrated clocks that are available have rate constants in the middle ranges for radical reactions and should be useful in a number of applications. Examples of clocks based on the 5-exo cyclization of the 5-hexenyl radical are shown in Table 2. The data for the series of radicals 2-1 and 2-2 [17, 32, 34, 35] are from indirect studies, whereas the data for radicals 2-3 and 2-4 [3, 35-38] are from direct LFP studies. The striking feature in these values is the apparent absence of electronic effects on the kinetics as deduced from the consistent values found for secondary radicals in the series 2-1 and 2-3. The dramatic reduction in rate constants for the tertiary radical counterparts that contain the conjugating ester, amide and nitrile groups must, therefore, be due to steric effects. It is likely that these groups enforce planarity at the radical center, and the radicals suffer a considerable energy penalty for pyramidalization that would relieve steric compression in the transition states for cyclization. 

The distyrylbenzene derivative (141) is photochemically reactive on irradiation in solution. The solvent of choice is acetonitrile/benzene/water (7 2 1) saturated with ammonia. The reactions encountered with this system are derived from electron transfer initiated by p-dicyanobenzene as the electron accepting sensitizer. This process yields the radical cation (142) of the starting material and also the cyclized radical cation (143). These species are trapped by ammonia to yield the final products (144) and (145) in the yields shown. The naphthyl system [141, R-R = (CH=CH)2] is also reactive and affords the analogous products (146) and (147). A study has examined the photochemically-induced cyclization of tetraenes such as (148) under SET conditions in aqueous acetonitrile solution. A variety of electron accepting sensitizers was used. In the example cited the sensitizer (149) was effective and the cascade cyclization yielded the product (150). 

The applications of such electronic effects extend to radical chemistry. For example, reactions of electrophilic oxygen-centered radicals display excellent chemoselectivity for cyclization onto the electron-rich silyl enol ether when competing with terminal alkene cyclization, 1,5-hydrogen abstraction, and p-fragmentation pathways (Figure 6.115). ... 

The investigation of various parameters of the cyclization of enyne-allene 12, using the density frinctional theory (DFT), has been undertaken.This includes the thermodynamics for both C2-C7 (leading to 13) and C2-C6 (leading to 14 and called Schmittel reaction) reaction pathways. Theoretical calculations address the regioselectivity of diradical cyclization in enyne-allene with a different substitution. This study rationalizes the switch between the two radical cyclizations (C2-C7 vs. C2-C6) on the basis of mainly steric (12, = t-Bu) or electronic effects (R =... 

The first example of a cyclization of fluorine-containing 5-hexenyl radicals was the study of the radical-iniOated cyclodimenzation reaction of 3,3,4,4-tetra-fluoro-4-iodo-1-butene. In this reaction, the intermediate free radical adds either to more of the butene or to an added unsaturated species [54, 55] (equation 56). Electron-deficient alkenes are not as effective trapping agents as electron-nch alkenes and alkynes [55]. 

Novi and coworkers124 have shown that the reaction of 2,3-bis(phenylsulfonyl)-l,4-dimethylbenzene with sodium benzenethiolate in dimethyl sulfoxide yields a mixture of substitution, cyclization and reduction products when subjected at room temperature to photostimulation by a sunlamp. These authors proposed a double chain mechanism (Scheme 17) to explain the observed products. This mechanism is supported by a set of carefully designed experiments125. The addition of PhSH, a good hydrogen atom donor, increases the percent of reduction products. When the substitution process can effectively compete with the two other processes, the increase in the relative yield of substitution (e.g., with five molar equivalents of benzenethiolate) parallels the decrease in those of both cyclization and reduction products. This suggests a common intermediate leading to the three different products. This intermediate could either be the radical anion formed by electron transfer to 2,3-bis(phenylsulfonyl)-l,4-dimethylbenzene or the a radical formed... 

Diels-Alder catalysis.1 This radical cation can increase the endo-selectivity of Diels-Alder reactions when the dienophile is a styrene or electron-rich alkene. This endo-selectivity obtains even in intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions. Thus the triene 2, a mixture of (Z)- and (E)-isomers, cyclizes in the presence of 1 to 0° to the hydroindanes 3 and 4 in the ratio 97 3. Similar cyclization of (E)-2 results in 3 and 4 in the ratio 98 2 therefore, the catalyst can effect isomerization of (Z)-2 to (E)-2. Even higher stereoselectivity is observed when the styrene group of 2 is replaced by a vinyl sulfide group (SC6H5 in place of QHtOCT ). 

The tertiary a-ester (26) and a-cyano (27) radicals react about an order of magnitude less rapidly with Bu3SnH than do tertiary alkyl radicals. On the basis of the results with secondary radicals 28-31, the kinetic effect is unlikely to be due to electronics. The radical clocks 26 and 27 also cyclize considerably less rapidly than a secondary radical counterpart (26 with R = H) or their tertiary alkyl radical analogue (i.e., 26 with R = X = CH3), and the slow cyclization rates for 26 and 27 were ascribed to an enforced planarity in ester- and cyano-substituted radicals that, in the case of tertiary species, results in a steric interaction in the transition states for cyclization.89 It is possible that a steric effect due to an enforced planar tertiary radical center also is involved in the kinetic effect on the tin hydride reaction rate constants. 

Recently it has been shown that radical anionic cyclization of olefinic enones effectively compete with intramolecular [2 -I- 2]-cycloaddition to form spirocy-clic compounds [205, 206], 3-Alkenyloxy- and 3-alkenyl-2-cyclohexenones 235 are irradiated in the presence of triethylamine. As depicted in Scheme 46 two reaction pathways may operate. Both involve electron transfer steps, either to the starting material (resulting in a direct cyclization) or to the preformed cyclobutane derivative 239, which undergoes reductive cleavage. The second... 

Electroreductive one-electron initiation of cyclization was described for the series of E,E-, 1-dibenzoyl-l,6-heptadiene and its derivatives (Roh et al. 2002, Felton and Bauld 2004). In this case, the catalytic effect was also observed (the actual consumption of electricity was substantially less than theoretical). The same bis(enones) can also be cyclized on the action of the sodium salt of chrysene anion-radical in THF, but with no catalytic effect. Optimum yields were obtained only when 70-120 mol% of the initiator was used, relative to a substrate (Yang et al. 2004). The authors suggest that tight ion pairing of the sodium cation with the product anion-radical in THF (which is a somewhat nonpolar solvent) slows down the intermolecular electron transfer to the bis(enone) molecules. Such an electron transfer would be required for chain propagation. 

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