Thermal electrocyclic reactions

The interconversion B C is 10-electron electrocyclic reaction thermal disrotation). 

Brief Review of Molecular Orbitals 25. ELECTROCYCLIC REACTIONS Thermal Cyclization of 4n + 2 n Systems Photochemical Cyclization of 4n + 2 n Systems Thermal Cyclization of 4n n Systems Photochemical Cyclization of 4n n Systems Summary of Electrocyclic Reactions... 

The direct connection of rings A and D at C l cannot be achieved by enamine or sul> fide couplings. This reaction has been carried out in almost quantitative yield by electrocyclic reactions of A/D Secocorrinoid metal complexes and constitutes a magnificent application of the Woodward-Hoffmann rules. First an antarafacial hydrogen shift from C-19 to C-1 is induced by light (sigmatropic 18-electron rearrangement), and second, a conrotatory thermally allowed cyclization of the mesoionic 16 rc-electron intermediate occurs. Only the A -trans-isomer is formed (A. Eschenmoser, 1974 A. Pfaltz, 1977). 

Thermal and photochemical electrocyclic reactions are particularly useful in the synthesis of alkaloids (W. Oppolzer, 1973,1978 B K. Wiesner, 1968). A high degree of regio- and stereoselectivity can be reached, if cyclic olefin or enamine components are used in ene reactions or photochemical [2 + 2]cycloadditions. 

There are several general classes of pericyclic reactions for which orbital symmetry factors determine both the stereochemistry and relative reactivity. The first class that we will consider are electrocyclic reactions. An electrocyclic reaction is defined as the formation of a single bond between the ends of a linear conjugated system of n electrons and the reverse process. An example is the thermal ring opening of cyclobutenes to butadienes ... 

We have now considered three viewpoints from which thermal electrocyclic processes can be analyzed symmetry characteristics of the frontier orbitals, orbital correlation diagrams, and transition-state aromaticity. All arrive at the same conclusions about stereochemistiy of electrocyclic reactions. Reactions involving 4n + 2 electrons will be disrotatory and involve a Hiickel-type transition state, whereas those involving 4n electrons will be conrotatory and the orbital array will be of the Mobius type. These general principles serve to explain and correlate many specific experimental observations made both before and after the orbital symmetry mles were formulated. We will discuss a few representative examples in the following paragraphs. 

There are also examples of electrocyclic processes involving anionic species. Since the pentadienyl anion is a six-7c-electron system, thermal cyclization to a cyclopentenyl anion should be disrotatory. Examples of this electrocyclic reaction are rare. NMR studies of pentadienyl anions indicate that they are stable and do not tend to cyclize. Cyclooctadienyllithium provides an example where cyclization of a pentadienyl anion fragment does occur, with the first-order rate constant being 8.7 x 10 min . The stereochemistry of the ring closure is consistent with the expected disrotatory nature of the reaction. 

E. N. Marvell, Thermal Electrocyclic Reactions, Academic Press, New York, 1980. 

Synthesis of [d]-annelated indoles by thermal electrocyclic reactions 95MI7. 

The most striking feature of electrocyclic reactions is their stereochemistry. For example, (2 ,4Z,6 )-2,4,6-octatriene yields only c/s-5,6-dimethyl-l,3-cyclo-hexadiene when heated, and (2 ,4Z,6Z)-2,4,6-octatriene yields only trnns-5,6-dimethyl-l,3-cyclohexadiene. Remarkably, however, the stereochemical results change completely when the reactions are carried out under what are called photochemical, rather than thermal, conditions. Irradiation, or photolysis,... 

Thermal and photochemical electrocyclic reactions always take place with opposite stereochemistry because the symmetries of the frontier orbitals are always different. Table 30.1 gives some simple rules that make it possible to predict the stereochemistry of electrocyclic reactions. 

Fora [4 + 2 -7r-electron cycloaddition (Diels-Aldei reaction), let s arbitrarily select the diene LUMO and the alkene HOMO. The symmetries of the two ground-slate orbitals are such that bonding of the terminal lobes can occur with suprafacial geometry (Figure 30.9), so the Diels-Alder reaction takes place readily under thermal conditions. Note that, as with electrocyclic reactions, we need be concerned only with the terminal lobes. For purposes of prediction, interactions among the interior lobes need not be considered. 

Thermal and photochemical cycloaddition reactions always take place with opposite stereochemistry. As with electrocyclic reactions, we can categorize cycloadditions according to the total number of electron pairs (double bonds) involved in the rearrangement. Thus, a thermal Diels-Alder [4 + 2] reaction between a diene and a dienophile involves an odd number (three) of electron pairs and takes place by a suprafacial pathway. A thermal [2 + 2] reaction between two alkenes involves an even number (two) of electron pairs and must take place by an antarafacial pathway. For photochemical cyclizations, these selectivities are reversed. The general rules are given in Table 30.2. 

Similarly, enamino vinyl sulfones (345) can undergo a thermally allowed electrocyclic reaction between the termini of the enaminic double bond and the allyl sulfonyl portion in the intermediate anion (346) to afford a, /1-unsaturated thiene dioxides (348) as shown in equation 126335. 

Vitamin D chemistry provided some of the first examples of both thermal and photo electrocyclic reactions<170 173) ... 

For reviews for pericyclic ring-closures, see (a) Marvell EN (1980) Thermal electrocyclic reactions. Academic, New York (b) Okamura WH, de Lera AR (1991) In Trost BM, Fleming I, Paquette LA (eds) Comprehensive organic synthesis, vol. 5. Pergamo, New York, pp 699-750... 

Scheme 13 may look unfavorable on the face of it, but in fact the second two reactions are thermally allowed 10- and 14-electron electrocyclic reactions, respectively. The aromatic character of the transition states for these reactions is the major reason why the benzidine rearrangement is so fast in the first place.261 The second bimolecular reaction is faster than the first rearrangement (bi-molecular kinetics were not observed) it is downhill energetically because the reaction products are all aromatic, and formation of three molecules from two overcomes the entropy factor involved in orienting the two species for reaction. 

Electrocyclic reactions were first described by Woodward and Hoffmann in their classic series of articles. One very interesting aspect of such reactions is, that for a given conjugated polyene photochemical transformation leads to the opposite stereochemical outcome than the thermal one314). 

Stability of Acyclic Alkyl and Acyl Nitronates A weak point of acyclic alkyl nitronates is their thermal instability because these compounds can be involved in two electrocyclic reactions presented in Scheme 3.72. 

Electrocyclic reactions can be brought about by heat, by ultraviolet irradiation and sometimes by use of metal catalysts. The thermal reaction is generally not reversible and as written above cyclobutenes have been converted to 1, 3 dienes by heating between 100° and 200°C. But the photochemical conversion can be carried out in either direction. Generally 1, 3 dienes can be converted to cyclobutenes rather than the reverse because the dienes because of n electrons are strong absorbers of light at the used wavelengths. 

The simplest example of an electrocyclic reaction involving 4n electron system is the thermal opening of cyclobutenes to 1,3 butadienes. The reaction can be done thermally or photochemically and under either conditions, it is stereospecific. 

From this it should not be inferred that all electrocyclic reactions under thermal conditions proceed in a conrotatory manner and under irradiation they proceed in a disrotatory fashion. This is clear from the following example ... 

There seems to be no great difference in the free energy between acyclic triene and the cyclic diene. This is because of smaller strain in the six-membered ring as compared with the four-membered one. On the other hand in 6n electron system in electrocyclic process there is more efficient absorption in the near regions of u.v. spectrum. This is why under both thermal and photochemical conditions, the (1, 6) electrocyclic reactions are reversible. Side reactions are more frequent in reversible. Side reactions are more frequent in reversible transformations of trienes than in dienes. The dehydrogenation of cyclic dienes to aromatic compounds may also occur in the thermal process. On heating cyclohexadiene yields benzene and hydrogen. 

Many other examples of contrasting behaviour have been discovered. For example all-cis-cyclodecapentaene (VII) photochemically equilibrate at low temperatures with trans 9, 10 dihydronapthalene by a conrotatory six electron electrocyclic reaction but it is converted thermally into cis-9, 10 dihydronaphthalene by disrotatory closure. 

Thermal and photochemical electrocyclic reactions are both stereospecific, with the two processes giving rise to stereospecific reactions in the opposite sense. 

For the thermal electrocyclic reaction of dienes, the HOMO for the diene is n2, since there are four electrons to accommodate in the n-orbitals (two paired electrons per orbital). Thus, for hexa-2,4-diene the conrotatory mode of reaction gives the trans isomer (Scheme 8.3). 

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