Diels activation volumes

In summary, it seems that for most Diels-Alder reactions secondary orbital interactions afford a satisfactory rationalisation of the endo-exo selectivity. However, since the endo-exo ratio is determined by small differences in transition state energies, the influence of other interactions, most often steric in origin and different for each particular reaction, is likely to be felt. The compact character of the Diels-Alder activated complex (the activation volume of the retro Diels-Alder reaction is negative) will attenuate these eflfects. The ideas of Sustmann" and Mattay ° provide an attractive alternative explanation, but, at the moment, lack the proper experimental foundation. 

Most Diels-Alder reactions, particularly the thermal ones and those involving apolar dienes and dienophiles, are described by a concerted mechanism [17]. The reaction between 1,3-butadiene and ethene is a prototype of concerted synchronous reactions that have been investigated both experimentally and theoretically [18]. A concerted unsymmetrical transition state has been invoked to justify the stereochemistry of AICI3-catalyzed cycloadditions of alkylcyclohexenones with methyl-butadienes [12]. The high syn stereospecificity of the reaction, the low solvent effect on the reaction rate, and the large negative values of both activation entropy and activation volume comprise the chemical evidence usually given in favor of a pericyclic Diels-Alder reaction. 

In Table 2 Diels-Alder reactions are complied showing ratios of activation volume to reaction volume that are smaller than or close to unity (0 = AV /AV < 1) and in Table 3 those that are close to or even larger than unity (0 > 1). Within the scope of transition state theory, the activation volume can be considered to be a measure of the partial molar volume of the transition state [AV = F — F (reactants)]. Accordingly, the transition state volumes of these reactions are close to or even smaller than the... 

The observation that the transition state volumes in many Diels-Alder reactions are product-like, has been regarded as an indication of a concerted mechanism. In order to test this hypothesis and to gain further insight into the often more complex mechanism of Diels-Alder reactions, the effect of pressure on competing [4 + 2] and [2 + 2] or [4 + 4] cycloadditions has been investigated. In competitive reactions the difference between the activation volumes, and hence the transition state volumes, is derived directly from the pressure dependence of the product ratio, [4 + 2]/[2 + 2]p = [4 + 2]/[2 + 2]p=i exp —< AF (p — 1)/RT. All [2 + 2] or [4 + 4] cycloadditions listed in Tables 3 and 4 doubtlessly occur in two steps via diradical intermediates and can therefore be used as internal standards of activation volumes expected for stepwise processes. Thus, a relatively simple measurement of the pressure dependence of the product ratio can give important information about the mechanism of Diels-Alder reactions. 

In the thermal dimerization of chloroprene 1 (Table 4, entry 1) the activation volumes for two [4 + 2] cycloadditions leading to 2 and 3 were found to be smaller (more negative) than those of the third [4 + 2] and the [2 + 2] cycloadditions leading to 4, 5 and 6, respectively. Stewart50 explained these results in terms of concerted Diels-Alder... 

Diels-Alder reactions with acyclic and carbocyclic dienes are compiled in Scheme 5. The comparison between the Lewis-acid catalyzed and pressure-induced reaction (entry 1) shows that the application of high pressure, particularly in acid-sensitive systems, can sometimes lead to a better yield. Furthermore, pressure may shift the product ratio, if the activation volumes of the competing reactions are different, so that the application of pressure may also be useful in highly reactive systems, e.g. the reactive indenone 17 as dienophile, provided that a shift in the product ratio is desired. At atmospheric... 

While many observations are well understood, e.g. those dealing with the reaction rate or with the selectivity, there are some factors which cannot be generalized. Many transformations of particular reactants or under unusual reaction conditions led to unexpected results. There are often singular explanations for such reactions but no overall concept. For instance, computations on Diels-Alder transition structures and thermodynamics of retro-Diels-Alder reactions confirmed that the activation volume of these [4 + 2]-cycloadditions is negative80. This result, pointing to the compact character of the transition structure, is used to explain the dependence of reactivity and selectivity on internal as well as external pressure81-83. These effects are only observed at relatively high external pressures (Table 5). 

For concerted Diels-Alder reactions, as discussed above, both AV and AF are negative and Owl. In some unhindered Diels-Alder reactions, such as those involving maleic anhydride, it was observed [275] that AV > AF. This means that the transition state has an additional volume contraction with respect to the products. Since Diels-Alder cycloadditions are essentially solvent-insensitive and thus have negligible or small environmental contribution to the activation volume, this contraction seems to be of intramolecular origin, and it was suggested [284] that it could be due to secondary orbital interactions in the transition state. This contribution to AjF has been indicated as A, V. ... 

The retro-Diels-Alder reaction has been reviewed.A fully concerted cyclic transition state has been proposed for conrotatory opening of cyclobutenes, in order to account for the low activation entropy and unexpected activation volume of ca —2 to —3cm mol . ... 

For liquid-phase reactions it is known that they may be enhanced by applying higher pressures if the activation volumes are strongly negative, for example, with Diels-Alder reactions. At pressures up to 600 bar (6 x 10 Pa), Benito-Lopez et al. used fiber-based on-line UV-vis spectroscopy to monitor the nucleophilic aromatic substitution of l-fluoro-4-nitrobenzene with a ten-fold excess of pyrrolidine. ... 

After in the foregoing chapter thermodynamic properties at high pressure were considered, in this chapter other fundamental problems, namely the influence of pressure on the kinetic of chemical reactions and on transport properties, is discussed. For this purpose first the molecular theory of the reaction rate constant is considered. The key parameter is the activation volume Av which describes the influence of the pressure on the rate constant. The evaluation of Av from measurement of reaction rates is therefor outlined in detail together with theoretical prediction. Typical value of the activation volume of different single reactions, like unimolecular dissociation, Diels-Alder-, rearrangement-, polymerization- and Menshutkin-reactions but also on complex homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic reactions are presented and discussed. 

Many studies have established that the Diels-Alder reaction is strongly accelerated by an increase in pressure and this property has been applied to the reaction between 1-methoxybuta-1,3-diene and various aldehydes, ketones and a-keto esters, when good yields of dihydropyrans are obtained at 50 °C (79S41, 81JOC2230). Endo addition yielding the cis isomer is preferred, whilst differences in the ratio of cis and trans products obtained at atmospheric and at high pressures suggest that endo and exo additions have different activation volumes. 

The homo-Diels-Alder reactions of norbornadiene with dimethylacetylene dicarboxylate (DMAD) and TCNE are reported to have activation volumes of about - 30 cm3 cm-1 and classical examples have already been reviewed [10]. 

Solvent effect on rate constants. In this section, the rate constant will be predicted qualitatively in CO2 for the Diels-Alder cycloaddition of isoprene and maleic anhydride, a reaction which has been well-characterized in the liquid state (23,24). In a previous paper, we used E data for phenol blue in ethylene to predict the rate constant of the Menschutkin reaction of tripropylamine and methyliodide (19). The reaction mechanisms are quite different, yet the solvent effect on the rate constant of both reactions can be correlated with E of phenol blue in liquid solvents. The dipole moment increases in the Menschutkin reaction going from the reactant state to the transition state and in phenol blue during electronic excitation, so that the two phenomena are correlated. In the above Diels-Alder reaction, the reaction coordinate is isopolar with a negative activation volume (8,23),... 

Table II. Prediction of the Activation volume of the Diels-Alder reaction between isoprene and maleic anhydride in supercritical carbon dioxide at 35 C...

An effect of high pressure on the diastereoselectivity is also observed for intramolecular hetero Diels-Alder reactions as found for the cycloaddition of the benzylidene-isoxazolone 8-23 to afford the cis-annulated 8-24 as the major product together with the frans-diastereomer 8-25 (Fig. 8-8) [549], However, the difference in activation volume with AAV =1.6 0.2 cm3 mol"1 is rather small. The activation volume with AV = 19.6 0.5 cm3 mol-1 at 343 K lies significantly below the usual values found for intermolecular cycloadditions of 1-oxa-1,3-butadienes, indicating that this reaction may be on the border line to a two-step reaction but see also below. 

Intermolecular [4 + 2] cycloadditions exhibit strongly negative activation volumes and reaction volumes. High pressure, therefore, can be applied to accelerate Diels-Alder reactions and to shift the reaction equilibrium towards the cycloadducts. These effects are of particular advantage to (1) promote odierwise slow [4 + 2] cycloadditions involving heat or Lewis acid sensitive educts or products (2) suppress cycloreversion processes which are eidier thermodynamically favored or would interfere with a kinetically controlled stereochemistry. In view of a recent review (1985) only a few examples are presented here. 

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