Halogen Bond Fission

The corrinoid-mediated reduction of polyhaloethenes has been the subject of a recent study, which reports reaction via homolytic C-halogen bond fission. The elimination of a further halogen radical affords haloalkynes, which lead to acetylene itself.56 The electron transfer-induced reductive cleavage of alkyl phenyl ethers with lithium naphthalenide has been re-examined in a study which showed that it is possible to reverse regioselectivity of the cleavage (i.e. ArOR to ArH or ArOH) by introduction of a positive charge adjacent to the alkyl ether bond.57 A radical intermediate has been detected by ESR spectroscopy in the reduction of imines to amines with formic acid58 which infers reacts takes place via Lukasiewicz s mechanism.59... 

Decomposition of alkyl halides also occurs in solution under the influence of silver. Thus it is possible to bring about photochemical C-halogen bond fission in chloroform on irradiation in aqueous solutions with titanium dioxide catalysts. The efficiency of the process is enhanced by up to 25% when the catalyst is loaded with silver18. 

Platinum removes a halogen atom from the halide, causing homolytic fission of the C-halogen bond. The resulting Pt -XR radical pair can either react to form Ptn(R)X or separate, with subsequent reaction with RX leading to either PtX2 or PtRX species or reaction with solvent molecules. 

It is not normally possible to add fluorine directly to alkenes as the reaction is so exothermic that bond fission occurs. Many alkenes will not add iodine directly either, and when the reaction does occur it is usually readily reversible. Alkynes are also found to undergo preferential, though not exclusive, ANTI addition of halogens, e.g. with butyne-l,2-dioic acid (17) ... 

As assumed, the small and positive valne of H/D kinetic isotope effect may be used as a criterion for an electron-transfer pathway. For example, anion-radicals of a-benzoyl-co-haloalkanes can react in two routes (Kimura and Takamnkn 1994). The first ronte is the common one—an electron is transferred from the oxygen anion of the carbonyl gronp to a terminal halogen. The transfer provokes fission of the carbon-halogen bond. The second ronte is the S 2 reaction, leading to a cyclic product as shown in Scheme 2.37. 

Examples of radical-mediated C-alkylations are listed in Table 5.4. In these examples, radicals are formed by halogen abstraction with tin radicals (Entries 1 and 2), by photolysis of Barton esters (Entry 3), and by the reduction of organomercury compounds (Entry 4). Carbohydrate-derived, polystyrene-bound a-haloesters undergo radical allylation with allyltributyltin with high diastereoselectivity (97% de [41]). Cleavage from supports by homolytic bond fission with simultaneous formation of C-H or C-C bonds is considered in Section 3.16. 

Aryl halides have been used with moderate success as photoaffinity reagents and they react in a process initiated by homolytic fission at the carbon-halogen bond (Sharma and Kharash, 1968, Grimshaw and de Silva, 1981). 

The gas-phase photochemistry of haiogenated ethenes has been studied in the UV and VUV [60, 61], as well as in the infrared, using multiple-photon-absorption excitation with powerful CO2 laser sources [62-66]. Also, sensitized decompositions, for example using electronically excited Hg( P) atoms, have also been reported [67-69]. The net gas-phase photochemistry of these systems usually involves hydrogen halide elimination via three-and/or four-center transition states, with some evidence for simple bond fission producing halogen atoms in the case of Hgf Pj) photosensitization [70]. 

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