Cyclohexane rings

The dimensionality of a data set is the number of variables that are used to describe eac object. For example, a conformation of a cyclohexane ring might be described in terms c the six torsion angles in the ring. However, it is often found that there are significai correlations between these variables. Under such circumstances, a cluster analysis is ofte facilitated by reducing the dimensionality of a data set to eliminate these correlation Principal components analysis (PCA) is a commonly used method for reducing the dimensior ality of a data set. 

The following acid-catalyzed cyclizations leading to steroid hormone precursors exemplify some important facts an acetylenic bond is less nucleophilic than an olelinic bond acetylenic bonds tend to form cyclopentane rather than cyclohexane derivatives, if there is a choice in proton-catalyzed olefin cyclizations the thermodynamically most stable Irons connection of cyclohexane rings is obtained selectively electroneutral nucleophilic agents such as ethylene carbonate can be used to terminate the cationic cyclization process forming stable enol derivatives which can be hydrolyzed to carbonyl compounds without this nucleophile and with trifluoroacetic acid the corresponding enol ester may be obtained (M.B. Gravestock, 1978, A,B P.E. Peterson, 1969). 

The conformational features of six membered rings are fundamental to organic chemistry so it is essential that you have a clear understanding of the directional prop erties of axial and equatorial bonds and be able to represent them accurately Figure 3 17 offers some guidance on the drawing of chair cyclohexane rings... 

The activation energy for cyclohexane ring inversion is 45 kJ/mol (10 8 kcal/mol) It IS a very rapid process with a half life of about 10 s at 25°C... 

A more detailed discussion of cyclohexane ring inversion can be found in the July 1997 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education pp 813-814... 

The following questions relate to a cyclohexane ring depicted in the chair conformation shown... 

Section 3 7 Three conformations of cyclohexane have approximately tetrahedral angles at carbon the chair the boat and the skew boat The chair is by far the most stable it is free of torsional strain but the boat and skew boat are not When a cyclohexane ring is present m a compound it almost always adopts a chair conformation... 

A substituent is less crowded and more stable when it is equatorial than when It IS axial on a cyclohexane ring Ring flipping of a monosubsti tuted cyclohexane allows the substituent to become equatorial... 

This places an entire cyclohexane ring in the window... 

A decisive breakthrough to a T range above 230°C was achieved with a polycarbonate based on spitobisiudan (SBI-PC, (8)) (203) or 3,3,5-trimethyl cyclohexane (TMC-PC, (7) whereia the cyclohexane ring bears three methyl groups) (204). 

A central core of benzene rings is linked by a fuactioaal group X. The most common end groups at the para sites, and R2, are alkyl (—C H2 ) or alkoxy (—OC H2 + ), or acyl chains C SI NO2 cinnamate (—CH=CHCOOC H2 ) or halogens. Cyclohexane rings can sometimes replace one or more of the benzene rings without loss of Hquid crystallinity. 

The stmcture of vitamin A [11103-57-4] and some of the important derivatives are shown in Figure 1. The parent stmcture is aH-Zra/ j -retinol [68-26-8] and its lUPAC name is (all-E)-3,7-dimethyl-9-(2,6,6-trimethyl-l-cyclohexen-l-yl)-2,4,6,8-nonatetraen-l-ol (1). The numbering system for vitamin A derivatives parallels the system used for the carotenoids. In older Hterature, vitamin A compounds are named as derivatives of trimethyl cyclohexene and the side chain is named as a substituent. For retinoic acid derivatives, the carboxyl group is denoted as C-1 and the trimethyl cyclohexane ring as a substituent on C-9. The stmctures of vitamin A and -carotene were elucidated by Karrer in 1930 and several derivatives of the vitamin were prepared by this group (5,6). In 1935, Wald isolated a substance found in the visual pigments of the eye and was able to show that this material was identical with Karrer s retinaldehyde [116-31-4] (5) (7). 

The overall picture of the many results which have been obtained with hetero-substituted cyclohexane rings is a very consistent one. Cyclohexane itself in its lowest energy conformation adopts the so-called chair conformation, as depicted in Figure 3 by the two outer formulae (a, b). These are contained in energy wells ca. 42 kJ moP deep. Another conformation, of low abundance in cyclohexane at normal temperatures, but which is important in some substituted derivatives, is the twist form (c, d). This is ca. 22 kJ moP less stable than the chair forms, and it lies on the lowest-energy pathway between them. 

An X-ray structure of 5yn-triepoxide (38) (74AG(E)539) shows that the cyclohexane ring is planar, with the three oxygens and sbt hydrogens lying in parallel planes 1.19 and 0.42 A respectively from the carbon plane. With all oxygens on one face , (38) forms a crystalline 2 1 complex with potassium iodide. 

The CH fragment which is linked to the OH group (Sh = 5.45 ) can easily be located in the H and NMR spectra. The chemical shift values Sc =74.2 for C and Sh = 3.16 for //are read from the CH COSY plot. The H signal at S,i = 3.16 splits into a triplet (11.0 Hz) of doublets (4.0 Hz). The fact that an antiperiplanar coupling of 11 Hz appears twice indicates the diequatorial configuration (trans) of the two substituents on the cyclohexane ring 5. If the substituents were positioned equatorial-axial as in 4 or 5, then a synclinal coupling of ca 4 Hz would be observed two or three times. 

Substitution on a cyclohexane ring does not greatly affect the rate of conformational inversion but does change the equilibrium distribution between alternative chair forms. All substituents that are axial in one chair conformation become equatorial on ring inversion, and vice versa. For methylcyclohexane, AG for the equilibrium... 

When two or more substituents are present on a cyclohexane ring, the interactions between the substituents must be included in the analysis. The dimethylcyclohexanes provide an example in which a straightforward interpretation is in complete agreement with the experimental data. For 1,2-, 1,3-, and 1,4-dimethylcyclohexane, the free-energy change of the equilibrium for the cis trans isomerization is given below. ... 

The decalin (bicyclo[4.4.0]decane) ring system provides another important system for study of conformational effects in cyclohexane rings. Equilibration of the cis and trans isomers reveals that the trans isomer is favored by about 2.8 kcal/mol. Note that this represents a change in configuration, not conformation. The energy difference can be analyzed by noting that the cis isomer has three more gauche butane interactions that are... 

Consider the conformations possible for 3-substituted methylenecyclohexanes. Dc you expect typical substituents to exhibit larger or smaller preferences for the equatorial orientation, as conpared to the same substituent on a cyclohexane ring ... 

Steric and stereoelectronic effects control the direction of approach of an electrophile to the enolate. Electrophiles approach from the least hindered side of the enolate. Numerous examples of such effects have been observed. In ketone and ester enolates that are exocyclic to a conformationally biased cyclohexane ring there is a slight... 

Reactions such as catalytic hydrogenation that take place at the less hindered side of a reactant are common in organic chemistr-y and are examples of steric effects on reactivity. Previously we saw steric effects on structure and stability in the case of cis and trans stereoisomers and in the preference for equatorial substituents on cyclohexane rings. 

Use molecular models to compare —C=CH, —CH=CH2, and —CH2CH3 with respect to their preference for an equatorial orientation when attached to a cyclohexane ring. One of these groups is very much different from the other two. Which one Why ... 

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