Cyclopropanone, structure

The net structural change is the same for both mechanisms. The energy requirements of the cyclopropanone and semibenzilic mechanism may be fairly closely balanced.87 Cases of operation of the semibenzilic mechanism have been reported even for compounds having a hydrogen available for enolization.88 Among the evidence that the cyclopropanone mechanism operates is the demonstration that a symmetrical intermediate is involved. The isomeric chloro ketones 12 and 13, for example, lead to the same ester. 

When the two carbonyl substituents are identical, either the cyclopropanone or the dipolar equivalent is symmetric. As the a- and a -carbons are electronically similar (identical in symmetrical cases) in these intermediates, the structure of the ester product... 

The isolation of cyclopropenones and their undoubtedly increased stability compared to the less-strained saturated cyclopropanones might well be attributed to the validity of the above symbolism of aromatic cyclopropenium contribution to the ground state of 7. It should nevertheless be clear, that the information available on the electronic structure of cyclopropenones demands certain refinements of this very useful qualitative concept. 

The reaction of allenes with peracids and other oxygen transfer reagents such as dimethyldioxirane (DM DO) or hydrogen peroxide proceeds via allene oxide intermediates (Scheme 17.17). The allene oxide moiety is a versatile functionality. It encompasses the structural features of an epoxide, an olefin and an enol ether. These reactive intermediates may then isomerize to cyclopropanones, react with nucleophiles to give functionalized ketones or participate in a second epoxidation reaction to give spirodioxides, which can react further with a nucleophile to give hydroxy ketones. 

Figure 3.4 Structures of (a) coprin, (b) cyclopropanone, and (c) the thio-hemiketal of cyclopropanone formed at the essential SH-group of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase that blocks the activity of the enzyme.

When seemingly simple organic structures defy isolation, this usually stimulates many theoretical and experimental studies in an effort to rationalize anomalous behavior. In the case of cyclopropanone, the possibility was considered that the molecule might preferably exist as an open-chain dipolar structure rather than as the cyclic ketone ... 

Also, both [3 + 4] cycloadditions of cyclopropanone to dienes and [3 + 2] additions to carbonyl groups have been observed. These reactions seem easiest to understand if cyclopropanone can behave as if it had, or could be converted to, a dipolar open-chain structure ... 

How would you expect the proton nmr spectrum of cyclopropanone in the cyclic ketone and dipolar ion structures (Section 17-11) to differ Show your reasoning. 

Pochan, Baldwin and Flygare have analyzed the microwave spectra of cyclopropanone and the isotopic isomers 13Ci, 13C2, and 2,2-dideutero-cyclopropanone.63) The rotational transitions were determined by studying the Stark effect (the shifts and splittings of lines produced by an electric field). The type of transition observed for cyclopropanone was consistent with C v symmetry and the sum of the moments of inertia (/a + /b — Ic) suggested that all four protons are out-of-plane. These data eliminate such structural alternatives as the dipolar oxyallyl tautomer 82 and allene oxide 83. The electric dipole moment (fi ) was calculated to be 2.67 0.10 D, which corresponds to an average of those of acetone (2.93 D) 65> and formaldehyde (2.34D).6 )... 

Irradiation of tetramethylcyclobutanedione (16) in furan gives an 8-oxabicyclo[3.2.1]oct-6-en-3-one derivative via oxyallyl cation (17). This reaction is the first example of the cycloaddition of cyclopropanones. Although the syntheses of a few seven-membered ring compounds have been subsequently carried out by means of this photoreaction, interest in cyclopropanone chemistry has been directed to structure and reactivity relationships, but not to organic synthesis. ... 

Translation of these results into compound I leads to structure X. Unraveling of the strained zwitterion XI derived from this would yield keto aldehyde XII, a structure that plays a central role in the various possible reaction mechanisms that branch off from the starting material I. Furthermore, under photo-lytic conditions, some alkenes react with carbonyl compounds to form four-membered cyclic ethers, namely, oxetanes, by way of a [2-1-2] cycloaddition reaction known as the Patemo-Buchi process. Such a reaction would be all that is necessary to convert XII into the bicyclic cyclopropanone XIII required for the Favorskii-type rearrangement (see Scheme 42.3). Splitting by methanol attack would directly yield compound II. 

Because of its unique structure and bonding characteristics, cyclopropanone has been the subject of a number of theoretical calculations carried out to various levels of approximation These have dealt with the structure reaction paths and rearrangements of this strained cyclic ketone ... 

As discussed in an earlier section, displacement reactions on appropriately 1,1-disubstituted cyclopropanes may give rise to new cyclopropanone equivalents (see Schemes 43, 44). These reactions occur by S 1 processes involving carbenium ions of structure 136. In addition to being susceptible to ring-opening (Scheme 18) and trapping... 

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