Isomerization system, photochemical

Alkyl-allyl complexes of isomeric systems can be interconverted and thus be used in isomerization of vinylcyclopropanes. Ethyl 4-azabicyclo[5.1.0]octa-2,5-diene-4-carboxylate (20) reacts with pentacarbonyliron to give complex 21, which photochemically rearranges to complex 23. Carbonylation of both products 21 and 23 leads to ethyl 9-oxo-2-aza-bicyclo[3.3.1]nona-3,7-diene-2-carboxylate (22). While complex 21 upon heating regenerates the starting material, complex 23 gives the isomeric product 24. In contrast to iron, with rhodium only the endo-complex 25 is formed. ... 

The tetrazole is very much less sensitive to photolysis than the azide, and for a number of such systems photochemical generation of the heteroaryl nitrene has failed. This problem is important in nucleotide and nucleic acid chemistry, where azidopurines and azidopyrimidines are, at first sight, attractive candidates for photogenerated reagents. The position of the azide-tetrazole isomerization equilibrium is solvent dependent, and it is not possible to specify under what conditions (or in what kinds of receptor site) useful levels of photogenerated aryl nitrene can be produced. In general, therefore, it may be safer to avoid such systems if reasonable alternatives exist. 

INORGANIC COMPLEXES. The cis-trans isomerization of a planar square form of a rt transition metal complex (e.g., of Pt " ) is known to be photochemically allowed and themrally forbidden [94]. It was found experimentally [95] to be an inhamolecular process, namely, to proceed without any bond-breaking step. Calculations show that the ground and the excited state touch along the reaction coordinate (see Fig. 12 in [96]). Although conical intersections were not mentioned in these papers, the present model appears to apply to these systems. 

Only relatively few examples of interesting target molecules containing rings are known. These include caryophyllene (E.J. Corey, 1963 A, 1964) and cubane (J.C. Barborak, 1966). The photochemical [2 + 2]-cycloaddition applied by Corey yielded mainly the /ranr-fused isomer, but isomerization with base leads via enolate to formation of the more stable civ-fused ring system. 

Thermal and Photochemical Reactions. Unsubstituted ethyleneimine has astonishing thermal stabihty. The reaction of ethyleneimine diluted with argon proceeds to give a mixture of unidentified compounds only at temperatures above 400°C (339). In a flow pyrolysis system under pressures of <1.33 kPa (<10 mm Hg) on quartz wool, isomerization to give /V-methylenemethylamine and ethylideneimine was observed only ia the temperature range 510—535°C. Higher temperatures result ia fragmentation (340). 

The photochemical behavior of the isomeric 3-methyl-2-phenyl-2-allyl-l-azirine (66) system was also studied. Irradiation of (66) in cyclohexane gave a quantitative yield of azabicyclohexenes (67) and (68). Control experiments showed that (65) and (66) were not interconverted by a Cope reaction under the photolytic conditions. Photocycloaddition of (66) with an added dipolarophile afforded a different 1,3-dipolar cycloadduct from that obtained from (65). The thermodynamically less favored endo isomer (68b) was also formed as the exclusive product from the irradiation of azirine (66b). 

These various photoproducts are all valence isomers of the normal benzenoid structure. These alternative bonding patterns are reached from the excited state, but it is difficult to specify a precise mechanism. The presence of the t-butyl groups introduces a steric factor that works in favor of the photochemical valence isomerism. Whereas the t-butyl groups are coplanar with the ring in the aromatic system, the geometry of the bicyclic products results in reduced steric interactions between adjacent t-butyl groups. 

Azabicyclo[4.2.0]octatriene systems (e.g. 8), formed as nonisolable intermediates during the photochemical addition of benzonitrile or 1-naphthonitriles to phenols,16 -19 isomerize to 2-hydroxyazocines which exist predominantly as the lactam tautomers. 

The parent thionine system 1 up to now has not been prepared probably because the C-S bond in valence isomeric forms is too weak giving rise to facile rearrangement or decomposition. The obvious synthetic route, photochemical transformation of cyclooctatetraenccpisulfide 2 (9-thiabicyclo[6.1.0]nona-2,4,6-triene), does not lead to 1, but intriguingly to another valence isomer, the sulfur-bridged homotropylidene system 3.20... 

The photochemical extrusion of S02 from a-phenylsulfonyl-substituted enone systems, to give the analogous /J-phenylenones in modest yield, has also been reported60. Where Z, -photoisomerization is possible, however, for example in compounds such as 28 or 29, photoequilibration of the two isomeric sulfones is the dominant process observed61,62. 

Valence Isomerization of the 2-Thiabicyclo[3.2.0]heptadiene Moiety In principle, a valence isomerization of thiabicyclo[3.2.0]heptadiene skeleton would lead to a thiepin ring system. Wynberg et al. 23) reported that the photochemical adduct (28) from benzo[6]thiophene and dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate was not thermally stable. When heated in diglyme, it loses sulfur to give dimethyl 1,2-naphthalenedicarboxylate. This reaction presumably proceeds via ring opening of 28 to 2,3-dimethoxycarbonylbenzo[6]thiepin (29) which readily eliminates sulfur. This synthetic route was successfully applied to the reaction of electron-deficient acetylenes with enamines of 2,3-dihydrobenzo[fe]thiophen-3-ones in which the enamine moiety constitutes part of a thiophene system. When 3-pyrrolidin-l-yl-benzo[6]thiophene (30) was allowed to react with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate... 

However, the pathways for these reactions, particularly in the gas phase, have been only -.rtially characterized. In a wide variety of these reactions, coordinatively unsaturated, highly reactive metal carbonyls are produced [1-18]. The products of many of these photochemical reactions act as efficient catalysts. For example, Fe(C0)5 can be used to generate an efficient photocatalyst for alkene isomerization, hydrogenation, and hydrosilation reactions [19-23]. Turnover numbers as high as 3000 have been observed for Fe(C0)5 induced photocatalysis [22]. However, in many catalytically active systems, the active intermediate has not been definitively determined. Indeed, it is only recently that significant progress has been made in this area [20-23]. 

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