Intermediate resonance stabilization

Alkene polymers such as poly(methyl methacrylate) and polyacrylonitrile are easily formed via anionic polymerization because the intermediate anions are resonance stabilized by the additional functional group, the ester or the nitrile. The process is initiated by a suitable anionic species, a nucleophile that can add to the monomer through conjugate addition in Michael fashion. The intermediate resonance-stabilized addition anion can then act as a nucleophile in further conjugate addition processes, eventually giving a polymer. The process will terminate by proton abstraction, probably from solvent. 

The intermediate resonance-stabilized ester enolate adds to a molecule of methyl methacrylate to give another ester enolate and so on. 

In a mechanism involving nucleophilic catalysis, the enzyme would promote nucleophilic attack on the carbonyl carbon to produce a tetrahedral intermediate. In this intermediate, resonance stabilization of the C-N bond has been destroyed and the barrier to rotation about the C-N bond greatly reduced. Collapse of the tetrahedral intermediate with expulsion of nucleophile can produce either the cis or trans Xaa-Pro peptide. In the original work on PPI (Fischer et ai, 1984), results were presented that indicated that an enzyme sulfhydryl group was required for activity. This result was later interpreted to support a mechanism involving nucleophilic catalysis (Fischer et ai, 1989a,b). 

In water, ionization of the C-Br bond occurs first (Ei mechanism) to give the intermediate resonance-stabilized benzylic zwitterion C. After fast rotation about the C-C bond, carbon dioxide leaves conformer D perpendicularly to the plane of the car-benium ion, to give mainly the most stable ( )-isomer of / -bromostyrene. In butanone, after fast rotation about the C-C bond, elimination of CO2 and Br occurs in a concerted single-step (E2 mechanism) for stereoelectronic reasons (Br and C02 must be anti to one another) to give conformer B, which decomposes exclusively to the thermodynamically less stable (Z)-isomer. In more polar solvents, the partly zwitterionic activated complex, leading to zwitterion C in the rate-determining step, will clearly be more stabilized by solvation than the less dipolar activated complex leading directly to the (Z)-isomer of / -bromostyrene from conformer B [851]. 

A variety of other electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions involve very strong electrophiles reacting with the weakly nudeophilic aromatic tt cloud to form an intermediate resonance-stabilized cation on the ring that loses a proton to give the substituted arene. 

Unsymmetrically substituted dipyrromethanes are obtained from n-unsubstitued pyrroles and fl(-(bromomethyl)pyiToIes in hot acetic acid within a few minutes. These reaction conditions are relatively mild and the o-unsubstituted pyrrole may even bear an electron withdrawing carboxylic ester function. It is still sufficiently nucleophilic to substitute bromine or acetoxy groups on an a-pyrrolic methyl group. Hetero atoms in this position are extremely reactive leaving groups since the a-pyrrolylmethenium( = azafulvenium ) cation formed as an intermediate is highly resonance-stabilized. 

Most of the resonance stabilization of benzene is lost when it is converted to the cyclohexadienyl cation intermediate In spite of being allylic a cyclohexadienyl cation IS not aromatic and possesses only a fraction of the resonance stabilization of benzene... 

Reaction Mechanism. High temperature vapor-phase chlorination of propylene [115-07-17 is a free-radical mechanism in which substitution of an allyhc hydrogen is favored over addition of chlorine to the double bond. Abstraction of allyhc hydrogen is especially favored since the allyl radical intermediate is stabilized by resonance between two symmetrical stmctures, both of which lead to allyl chloride. 

Clearly, in the case of (66) two amide tautomers (72) and (73) are possible, but if both hydroxyl protons tautomerize to the nitrogen atoms one amide bond then becomes formally cross-conjugated and its normal resonance stabilization is not developed (c/. 74). Indeed, part of the driving force for the reactions may come from this feature, since once the cycloaddition (of 72 or 73) has occurred the double bond shift results in an intermediate imidic acid which should rapidly tautomerize. In addition, literature precedent suggests that betaines such as (74) may also be present and clearly this opens avenues for alternative mechanistic pathways. 

In aqueous alkaline conditions with chloroacetic acid the pyrido[4,3- f]pyrimidinethione (80) undergoes facile ring opening, attributed to the resonance stabilization of a delocalized covalent hydrate dianion intermediate (81) (82). Pyrido[2,3- f]pyrimidine-4-thiones (and... 

There are large differences in reactivity among the various carboxylic acid derivatives, such as amides, esters, and acyl chlorides. One important factor is the resonance stabilization provided by the heteroatom. This decreases in the order N > O > Cl. Electron donation reduces the electrophilicity of the carbonyl group, and the corresponding stabilization is lost in the tetrahedral intermediate. 

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as naphthalene, anthracene, and phenan-threne undergo electrophilic aromatic substitution and are generally more reactive than benzene. One reason is that the activation energy for formation of the c-complex is lower than for benzene because more of the initial resonance stabilization is retained in intermediates that have a fused benzene ring. 

Phenanthrene and anthracene both react preferentially in the center ring. This behavior is expected from simple resonance considerations. The c-complexes that result from substitution in the center ring have two intact benzene rings. The total resonance stabilization of these intermediates is larger than that of the naphthalene system that results if substitution occurs at one of the terminal rings. ... 

Both phenanthrene and anthracene have a tendency to undergo addition reactions under the eonditions involved in eertain eleetrophilic substitutions. For example, in the nitration of anthracene in the presence of hydrochloric acid, an intermediate addition product can be isolated. This is a result of the relatively close balance in resonance stabilization to be regained by elimination (giving an anthracene ring) or addition (resulting in two benzenoid rings). 

This resonance-stabilized intermediate can be protonated to give hydroxyethyl-TPP. This well-characterized intermediate was once thought to be so unstable that it could not be synthesized or isolated. However, its synthesis and isolation are actually routine. (In fact, a substantial amount of the thiamine pyrophosphate in living things exists as the hydroxyethyl form.)... 

Two reaction mechanisms, such as SN1 and SN2 mechanisms, seem to be possible for explaining formations of 158a-c (Scheme 25). The former requires a resonance-stabilized indolyl cation 165 as an intermediate, while the latter indicates the presence of a transition state like 167. The introduction of a methoxy group into the 5 position of 165 should stabilize the corresponding cation 166, in which nucleophilic substitution on indole nitrogen would become a predominant pathway. 

Conjugated dienes undergo several reactions not observed for nonconjugated dienes. One is the 1,4-addition of electrophiles. When a conjugated diene is treated with an electrophile such as HCl, 1,2- and 1,4-addition products are formed. Both are formed from the same resonance-stabilized allylic carbocation intermediate and are produced in varying amounts depending on the reaction conditions. The L,2 adduct is usually formed faster and is said to be the product of kinetic control. The 1,4 adduct is usually more stable and is said to be the product of thermodynamic control. 

Mechanism of nucleophilic aro-malic substitution. The reaction occurs in two steps and involves a resonance-stabilized carbanion intermediate. 

Nucleophilic substitutions on an aromatic ring proceed by the mechanism shown in Figure 16.17. The nucleophile first adds to the electron-deficient aryl halide, forming a resonance-stabilized negatively charged intermediate called a Meisenlieimer complex. Halide ion is then eliminated in the second step. 

Nucleophilic aromatic substitution occurs only if the aromatic ring has an electron-withdrawing substituent in a position ortho or para to the leaving group. The more such substituents there are, the faster the reaction. As shown in Figure 16.18, only ortho and para electron-withdrawing substituents stabilize the anion intermediate through resonance a meta substituent offers no such resonance stabilization. Thus, p-ch oronitrobenzene and o-chloronitrobenzene react with hydroxide ion at 130 °C to yield substitution products, but m-chloronitrobenzene is inert to OH-. 

Reaction occurs exclusively at the benzylic position because the benzylic radical intermediate is stabilized by resonance. Figure 16.20 shows how the benzyl radical is stabilized by overlap of its p orbital with the ring 77 electron system. 

An electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction takes place in two steps—initial reaction of an electrophile, E+, with the aromatic ring, followed by loss of H+ from the resonance-stabilized carbocation intermediate to regenerate the aromatic ring. 

Polystyrene is produced commercially by reaction of styrene with butyllithium as an anionic initiator. Using resonance structures, explain how the chain-carrying intermediate is stabilized. 

The mechanism for the transformation of 5 to 4 was not addressed. However, it seems plausible that samarium diiodide accomplishes a reduction of the carbon-chlorine bond to give a transient, resonance-stabilized carbon radical which then adds to a Smni-activated ketone carbonyl or combines with a ketyl radical. Although some intramolecular samarium(n)-promoted Barbier reactions do appear to proceed through the intermediacy of an organo-samarium intermediate (i.e. a Smm carbanion),10 ibis probable that a -elimination pathway would lead to a rapid destruction of intermediate 5 if such a species were formed in this reaction. Nevertheless, the facile transformation of intermediate 5 to 4, attended by the formation of the strained four-membered ring of paeoniflorigenin, constitutes a very elegant example of an intramolecular samarium-mediated Barbier reaction. 

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