Dimethyl-1,2-dioxetane

Similar reactivity is known for divalent sulfur nucleophiles (75JA3850). For 3,3-dimethyl-1,2-dioxetane, initial attack at carbon by azide ion has been postulated to explain the formation of acetone and nitrogen and imine TV-oxide (Scheme 40) (71TL749,72JA1747). 

If the dioxetane is a solid, recrystallization is obviously the method of choice. It is critical to use metal-free solvents since traces of metal ions can lead to extensive decomposition. In the case of volatile crystalline dioxetanes, prepurification via sublimation can be advantageous. In some systems low temperature column chromatography is effective. In the case of liquid 1,2-dioxetanes, unless they are sufficiently volatile for low-temperature distillation such as 3,3-dimethyl-1,2-dioxetane, repeated low-temperature column chromatography is the only means of purification. 

Reaction with sulfur nucleophiles has also been investigated. For example, dioxene-dioxetane (Eq. 76) gave on reaction with diphenylsulfide, the dioxene-epoxide and the acetal of benzil. On the other hand, the reaction of dimethyl-1,2-dioxetane with dimethyl sulfoxylate gave the sulfurane (Eq. 77). ... 

Dimethyl-1,2-dioxetane is decomposed by nucleophiles. Kinetic and product analyses indicate that azide ion displaces the peroxy group from carbon (80), whereas the bromide ion directly attacks the soft oxygen (81). 

Some experimental support for the idea that the excited state spin selectivity is dependent on the relative energetics of the excited states and the biradical intermediate is derived from the study of 3-acetyl-4,4-dimethyl-dioxetane [10] by Horn and Schuster (1978). The relatively low ratio of triplet to singlet excited state methylglyoxal [11] which was observed (9 3) is interpreted as a... 

Yields of excited states from 1,2-dioxetane decomposition have been determined by two methods. Using a photochemical method (17,18) excited acetone from TMD is trapped with /n j -l,2-dicyanoethylene (DCE). Triplet acetone gives i7j -l,2-dicyanoethylene with DCE, whereas singlet acetone gives 2,2-dimethyl-3,4-dicyanooxetane. By measuring the yields of these two products the yields of the two acetone excited states could be determined. The yields of triplet ketone (6) from dioxetanes are determined with a similar technique. 

Dioxetanes are obtained from an a-halohydroperoxide by treatment with base (41), or reaction of singlet oxygen with an electron-rich olefin such as tetraethoxyethylene or 10,10 -dimethyl-9,9 -biacridan [23663-77-6] (16) (25,42). 

A number of chemiluminescent reactions may proceed through unstable dioxetane intermediates (12,43). For example, the classical chemiluminescent reactions of lophine [484-47-9] (18), lucigenin [2315-97-7] (20), and transannular peroxide decomposition. Classical chemiluminescence from lophine (18), where R = CgH, is derived from its reaction with oxygen in aqueous alkaline dimethyl sulfoxide or by reaction with hydrogen peroxide and a cooxidant such as sodium hypochlorite or potassium ferricyanide (44). The hydroperoxide (19) has been isolated and independentiy emits light in basic ethanol (45). 

Subsequent studies (63,64) suggested that the nature of the chemical activation process was a one-electron oxidation of the fluorescer by (27) followed by decomposition of the dioxetanedione radical anion to a carbon dioxide radical anion. Back electron transfer to the radical cation of the fluorescer produced the excited state which emitted the luminescence characteristic of the fluorescent state of the emitter. The chemical activation mechanism was patterned after the CIEEL mechanism proposed for dioxetanones and dioxetanes discussed earher (65). Additional support for the CIEEL mechanism, was furnished by demonstration (66) that a linear correlation existed between the singlet excitation energy of the fluorescer and the chemiluminescence intensity which had been shown earher with dimethyl dioxetanone (67). 

Formed by fluorine oxidation of the dilithium salt of hexafluoroacetone hydrate, it is unstable and explosive. The chloropentafluoro homologue is similar. Proponents of their use as reagents claim that the dimethyl and methyltrifluoromethyl analogues are not explosive this seems improbable, especially since the less stressed lower dioxetanes (homodioxiranes) are all dangerous. 

The dioxetane derivative 79 may be formed as intermediate in the brilliant chemiluminescence reaction between 10,10 -dimethyl-9,9 -bi-acridylidene and excited-singlet oxygen 125>. Chemiluminescence also occurs when potassium cyanide is added to lucigenin solutions in the... 

Tetrakis(bromomethyl)-9,9-dimethyl-l,2,4,5,7,8-hexoxonane, 3173 Tetramethyl-l,2-dioxetane, 2508... 

About 30 years ago, an enthalpy of formation was reported for 3,3,4,4-tetramethyl-l,2-dioxetane . Both by direct microcalorimetric combustion measurements of the neat solid and by reaction calorimetry (of the solid itself, and in acetone solution to form acetone), a consensus value was derived. Now, is the enthalpy of formation plausible , notwithstanding the very large error bars Consider reaction 6 for the dioxetane that produces 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-butanediol . The liquid phase enthalpy of reaction is —329 kJmoU. It is remarkable that this value is compatible with that for the dialkyl peroxides, ca —335 kJmoU, despite the ring strain that might be expected. 

In a thorough study on photooxidation of 2,5-dimethyl-2,4-hexadiene (455) it was found that 1,2-dioxene 456, 1,2-dioxetane 457, hydroperoxy dienes 458 and 459 and, when methanol was used as solvent, also hydroperoxy(methoxy)octene 460 are formed (Scheme 124) . Product distribution was found to be highly solvent dependent. These results led investigators to postulate a mechanism involving the intermediacy of perepoxide 461 and zwitterion 462 (Scheme 124). Accordingly, the product of [4-1-21-cycloaddition 456, the product of [2 + 2]-cycloaddition 457, as well as the products 458 and 459 deriving from ene-addition would originate from polar intermediates 461 and... 

The phenyl ring of styrene substrates directs a syn selectivity in their ene reactions with singlet oxygen. This effect was demonstrated by the photooxygenation of / ,/ -dimethyl styrene (20). This substrate, apart from the ene product, produces the 1,2-dioxetane and two diastereomeric diendoperoxides as shown in Scheme 9. 

In contrast, the a-peroxy lactones, also members of the dioxetane family, display a higher reactivity toward nucleophiles, in view of the inherent polarization of the peroxide bond by the carbonyl functionality. Consequently, the nucleophilic attack is expected to take place at the more sterically hindered but more electrophilic alkoxy-type oxygen atom of the peroxide bond. A recent detailed study of the oxidation of various di-, tri-and tetrasubstituted alkenes 6 with dimethyl a-peroxy lactone (7) revealed, however, much complexity, as illustrated in Scheme 7 for R = CH3, since cycloaddition (8), ene-reaction (9 and 10) and epoxidation (11) products were observed. In the presence of methanol, additionally the trapping products 12 and 13 were obtained, at the expense of the polyester 14. The preferred reaction mode is a sensitive function of the steric demand imposed by the attacking alkene nucleophile. 

Experimental evidence of the involvement of a biradical intermediate in the decomposition of 3,3-dimethyl-l,2-dioxetane (10) has been obtained by radical trapping with 1,4-cyclohexadiene (CHD). Decomposition of 10 in neat CHD was shown to result in the formation of the expected 1,4-dioxy biradical trapping product, 2-methyl-1,2-propanediol (11) ° . However, more recently, it has been shown that the previously observed trapping product 11 was formed by induced decomposition of the dioxetane, initiated by the attack of the C—C double bond of the diene on the strained 0—0 bond of the cyclic peroxide (Scheme 9)"°. 

Lucigenin (10,10 -dimethyl-9,9 -biacridinium or bis-Af-methylacridinium (38)), in the presence of hydrogen peroxide in alkaline media, exhibits chemiluminescence with a maximum emission wavelength at 445 nm. Lucigenin chemiluminescence was first reported in 1935 by Glen and Petsch, and the 1,2-dioxetane 39 was postulated as a key intermediate. Nevertheless, the mechanism of lucigenin chemiluminescence was only elucidated by McCapra and Richardson, who also proposed the thermal decomposition... 

The 1,2-dioxetane postulated as intermediate was never isolated . However, indirect evidence of a 1,2-dioxetane as a reaction intermediate was obtained by chemiluminescence resulting from the reaction of 10,10 -dimethyl-9,9 -biacridene (40) with singlet... 

Acetyl-protected 1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrazines 105, which are prepared by treatment of 2,3-dihydropyrazine with acetic anhydride and zinc (Scheme 27), undergo photooxidation to produce new dioxetanes 106 <1995JA9690>. Upon thermolysis, the dioxetanes 106 decompose quantitatively to tetraacyl ethylenediamines 107. Dimethyldioxirane oxidation of tetrahydropyrazine 105 affords novel epoxide 108, which is also generated by deoxygenation of dioxetane 106 with dimethyl sulfide. In 2,3,4,5-tetrahydropyrazine 1-oxide 109, which is prepared... 

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