Homo-conjugated species

The pattern in Figure 10.10 contains four energy minima occupied by the initial hydride, the dihydrogen-bonded complex, the intimate ion pair, and the solvent-separated ion pair as a final product of the reaction. For simplicity, the homo-conjugated species [RO- -H- OR] , assisting proton transfer and stabilizing the protonated products, can be ruled out. 

The effect is interpreted as evidence of the operation of the homo-/hetero-conjugate mechanism. The authors presume that for the mechanism given by equation 1, for additives P which are much less basic than the nucleophile N, electrophilic catalysis also occurs both with the hetero-conjugate N+HP formed between the conjugate acid of the nucleophile, N, and P, as well as with the homo-conjugate Nu+HNu. For more basic additives, electrophilic catalysis is possible by the species PH+ and its homo-conjugate PHP+153 162 182. 

In the Diels-Alder reaction a double bond adds 1,4 to a conjugated diene (a 2 + 4 cycloaddition), so the product is always a six-membered ring. The double-bond compound is called a dienophile. The reaction is easy and rapid and of very broad scope and reactivity of dienes and dienophiles can be predicted based on analysis of the HOMOs and LUMOs of these species. Ethylene and simple alkenes make poor dienophiles, although the reaction has been carried out with these compounds. 

The reactions of electrogenerated cation radicals of diarylsulfldes are mainly orbital-controlled and at this level the electronic structure of their frontier orbitals (HOMO-SOMO) has very interesting synthetic consequences. The 3p orbitals of sulfur are conjugated with only one aromatic ring even if there are two aryls bound to sulfur. Therefore, only one ring can be activated electrochemically. The degree of the charge delocalization in the ArS moiety of a cation radical on the one hand, and the availability of p- and o-positions for the substitution on the other, determine quite different reactivity of such species. 

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