Diethyl adipate, enolate

Electrostatic potential map for the enolate initially formed in the Dieckmann condensation of diethyl adipate shows most negatively-charged regions (in red) and less negatively-charged regions (in blue). 

In lipase-catalyzed transesterifications, frequent use of enol esters as acyl agents has been seen [1, 5], since the leaving unsaturated alcohol irreversibly tautomerizes to an aldehyde or a ketone, leading to the desired product in high yields. The polymerization of divinyl adipate and 1,4-butanediol proceeded in the presence of lipase PF at 45 °C [39]. Under similar reaction conditions, adipic acid and diethyl adipate did not afford the polymeric materials, indicating the high polymerizability of bis(enol ester) toward lipase catalyst. 

Dieckmann cyclization of diethyl adipate can be described by the two successive equilibria shown below. Use SpartanView to obtain the energies of diethyl adipate, the keto ester, the keto ester enolate ion, ethanol, and ethoxide anion, and calculate AH° for both steps. Which step is more favorable ... 

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