Diels-Alder reaction Woodward-Hoffmann rules applied

We have emphasized that the Diels-Alder reaction generally takes place rapidly and conveniently. In sharp contrast, the apparently similar dimerization of olefins to cyclobutanes (5-49) gives very poor results in most cases, except when photochemically induced. Fukui, Woodward, and Hoffmann have shown that these contrasting results can be explained by the principle of conservation of orbital symmetry,895 which predicts that certain reactions are allowed and others forbidden. The orbital-symmetry rules (also called the Woodward-Hoffmann rules) apply only to concerted reactions, e.g., mechanism a, and are based on the principle that reactions take place in such a way as to maintain maximum bonding throughout the course of the reaction. There are several ways of applying the orbital-symmetry principle to cycloaddition reactions, three of which are used more frequently than others.896 Of these three we will discuss two the frontier-orbital method and the Mobius-Huckel method. The third, called the correlation diagram method,897 is less convenient to apply than the other two. 

The Woodward-Hoffmann rules also allow the prediction of the stereochemistry of pericyclic reactions. The Diels-Alder reaction is an example of (re4s + re2s) cycloaddition. The subscript s, meaning suprafacial, indicates that both elements of the addition take place on the same side of the re-system. Addition to opposite sides is termed antarafacial. The Woodward-Hoffmann rules apply only to concerted reactions and are derived from the symmetry properties of the orbitals involved in the transition state. These rules may be summarised as shown in Table 7.1. 

Problem 9.33 When applying the Woodward-Hoffmann rules to the Diels-Alder reaction, (a) would the same conclusion be drawn if the LUMO of the dienophile interacts with the HOMO of the diene (b) Would the reaction be light-catalyzed ... 

Scheme 6.3 applies these rules by showing the HL structures for two cycloaddition reactions 11R and 11P are the structures for the reactants and products of the Woodward-Hoffmann forbidden 2 + 2 reaction, while 12R and 12P are the structures for the Woodward-Hoffmann allowed Diels—Alder reaction. In both cases, the difference in the HL structure is only the mode of spin coupling, and therefore the promotion energy G will involve only singlet-triplet excitations. In accord, we drew in Fig. 6.5 the corresponding... 

In 1952, Fukui published his Frontier MO theorywhich went initially unnoticed. In 1965, Woodward and Hoffmann published their principle of conservation of orbital symmetry, and applied it to all pericyclic chemical reactions. The immense success of these rules" renewed interest in Fukui s approach and together formed a new MO-based framework of thought for chemical reactivity (called, e.g., giant steps forward in chemical theory in Morrison and Boyd, pp. 934, 939, 1201, and 1203). This success of MO theory dealt a severe blow to VB theory. In this area too, despite the early calculations of the Diels-Alder and 2-1-2 cycloaddition reactions by Evans,VB theory missed making an impact, in part at least because of its blind adherence to simple resonance theory. All the subsequent VB derivations of the rules (e.g., by Oosterhoff in Ref. 90) were after the fact and failed to reestablish the status of VB theory. 

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