Kinetic steric hindrance

Jin X, Talbot J and Wang N FI L 1994 Analysis of steric hindrance effects on adsorption kinetics and equilibria AlChE J. 40 1685-96... 

The azo coupling reaction proceeds by the electrophilic aromatic substitution mechanism. In the case of 4-chlorobenzenediazonium compound with l-naphthol-4-sulfonic acid [84-87-7] the reaction is not base-catalyzed, but that with l-naphthol-3-sulfonic acid and 2-naphthol-8-sulfonic acid [92-40-0] is moderately and strongly base-catalyzed, respectively. The different rates of reaction agree with kinetic studies of hydrogen isotope effects in coupling components. The magnitude of the isotope effect increases with increased steric hindrance at the coupler reaction site. The addition of bases, even if pH is not changed, can affect the reaction rate. In polar aprotic media, reaction rate is different with alkyl-ammonium ions. Cationic, anionic, and nonionic surfactants can also influence the reaction rate (27). 

In the El cb mechanism, the direction of elimination is governed by the kinetic acidity of the individual p protons, which, in turn, is determined by the polar and resonance effects of nearby substituents and by the degree of steric hindrance to approach of base to the proton. Alkyl substituents will tend to retard proton abstraction both electronically and sterically. Preferential proton abstraction from less substituted positions leads to the formation of the less substituted alkene. This regiochemistry is opposite to that of the El reaction. 

Entry 3 has only alkyl substituents and yet has a significant lifetime in the absence of oxygen. The tris(/-butyl)methyl radical has an even longer lifetime, with a half-life of about 20 min at 25°C. The steric hindrance provided by the /-butyl substituents greatly retards the rates of dimerization and disproportionation of these radicals. They remain highly reactive toward oxygen, however. The term persistent radicals is used to describe these species, because their extended lifetimes have more to do with kinetic factors than with inherent stability." Entry 5 is a sterically hindered perfluorinated radical and is even more long-lived than similar alkyl radicals. 

In the absence of steric factors e.g. 5 ), the attack is antiparallel (A) (to the adjacent axial bond) and gives the axially substituted chair form (12). In the presence of steric hindrance to attack in the preferred fashion, approach is parallel (P), from the opposite side, and the true kinetic product is the axially substituted boat form (13). This normally undergoes an immediate conformational flip to the equatorial chair form (14) which is isolated as the kinetic product. The effect of such factors is exemplified in the behavior of 3-ketones. Thus, kinetically controlled bromination of 5a-cholestan-3-one (enol acetate) yields the 2a-epimer, (15), which is also the stable form. The presence of a 5a-substituent counteracts the steric effect of the 10-methyl group and results in the formation of the unstable 2l5-(axial)halo ketone... 

The empirical rule described above for the enantiofacial differentiation in AE of primary allylic alcohols also applies to secondary allylic alcohols. The new aspect that needs to be taken into consideration in this case is the steric hindrance arising from the presence of a substituent (R4) at the carbon bearing the hydroxy group (Figure 6.3). This substituent will interfere in the process of oxygen delivery, making the oxidation of one enantiomer much faster than the reaction of the other one. The phenomenon is so acute that in practice kinetic resolution is often achieved (Figure 6.4) [27]. 

This contrary stereochemistry in the Bucherer - Bergs reaction of camphor has been attributed to steric hindrance of e.w-attack of the cyanide ion on the intermediate imine. Normally, equatorial approach of the cyanide ion is preferred, giving the axial (t>Mr/o)-amino nitrile by kinetic control. This isomer is trapped under Bucherer-Bergs conditions via urea and hydan-toin formation. In the Strecker reaction, thermodynamic control of the amino nitrile formation leads to an excess of the more stable compound with an equatorial (e.w)-amino and an axial (endo)-cyano (or carboxylic) function13-17. 

Challis and Rzepa (1975) observed kinetic deuterium isotope effects in the azo coupling of 2-methyl-4,6-di-tert-butylindole (12.139) and its anion. The origin of this effect must also be attributed to steric hindrance of the proton transfer step in the substitution proper, since 2-deuterated methylindole and unsubstituted indole (Binks and Ridd, 1957) do not give isotope effects. 

The same conclusion was reached in a kinetic study of solvent effects in reactions of benzenediazonium tetrafluoroborate with substituted phenols. As expected due to the difference in solvation, the effects of para substituents are smaller in protic than in dipolar aprotic solvents. Alkyl substitution of phenol in the 2-position was found to increase the coupling rate, again as would be expected for electron-releasing substituents. However, this rate increase was larger in protic than in dipolar aprotic solvents, since in the former case the anion solvation is much stronger to begin with, and therefore steric hindrance to solvation will have a larger effect (Hashida et al., 1975 c). 

This reagent reacts with a,/3-unsaturated ketones to give kinetic products of exclusive 1,4-addition (2). With cyclic substrates, a strong preference for axial addition is observed, as is a susceptibility to steric hindrance. Transformation into the corresponding silylcuprate species permits conjugate addition to a wider variety of a,/3-unsaturated substrates (3,4). 

It is apparent from equation (16) that if k x becomes much larger than k 2, the rate will depend upon k 2 and so a kinetic isotope effect will be observed. Now kL j will become large if there is steric hindrance to formation of the intermediate, and a number of examples are now known where an electrophile which normally gives no isotope effect, does so if formation of the intermediate is hindered. 

The kinetic isotope effect will thus be observed when k 2lk 1 is small this will be occasioned by low reactivity of the reagents, and steric hindrance to reaction. 

A kinetic isotope effect, kH/kD = 1.4, has been observed in the bromination of 3-bromo-l,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene and its 6-deuterated isomer by bromine in nitromethane at 30 °C, and this has been attributed to steric hindrance to the electrophile causing kLx to become significant relative to k 2 (see p. 8)268. A more extensive subsequent investigation304 of the isotope effects obtained for reaction in acetic acid and in nitromethane (in parentheses) revealed the following values mesitylene, 1.1 pentamethylbenzene 1.2 3-methoxy-1,2,4,5-tetramethyl-benzene 1.5 5-t-butyl-1,2,3-trimethylbenzene 1.6 (2.7) 3-bromo-1,2,4,5-tetra-methylbenzene 1.4 and for 1,3,5-tri-f-butylbenzene in acetic acid-dioxan, with silver ion catalyst, kH/kD = 3.6. All of these isotope effects are obtained with hindered compounds, and the larger the steric hindrance, the greater the isotope... 

The lack of steric hindrance is also shown by the kinetic data for p-xylene, mesitylene, and durene, the observed reactivities being close to those calculated by the additivity principle. The additivity principle has also been tested for the last seven compounds in Table 177, and for the first five of these it holds very well. If one assumes a value for/3Me0 of ca. 4.0 and takes the average of the values listed in the table for the methyl substituent partial rate factors, then the observed calculated reactivity ratios are 1.6, 0.85, 0.75, 1.4 and 1.0. For the last two compounds in the table the ratios are 5.3 and 4.1, the reason for this being unknown. 

Studies have shown that carbene reactivity toward a wide variety of substrates is dramatically affected by the nature and multiplicity of the electronic state. - Similarly, the structure, electronic state, thermochemical stability, and reaction kinetics of both singlet and triplet carbenes can be significantly affected by the R-substituents. If R provides steric hindrance, the carbene center can be shielded to slow down inter-molecular reactions (kinetic stabilization). Additionally, bulky and/or geometrically... 

The preparation of ketones and ester from (3-dicarbonyl enolates has largely been supplanted by procedures based on selective enolate formation. These procedures permit direct alkylation of ketone and ester enolates and avoid the hydrolysis and decarboxylation of keto ester intermediates. The development of conditions for stoichiometric formation of both kinetically and thermodynamically controlled enolates has permitted the extensive use of enolate alkylation reactions in multistep synthesis of complex molecules. One aspect of the alkylation reaction that is crucial in many cases is the stereoselectivity. The alkylation has a stereoelectronic preference for approach of the electrophile perpendicular to the plane of the enolate, because the tt electrons are involved in bond formation. A major factor in determining the stereoselectivity of ketone enolate alkylations is the difference in steric hindrance on the two faces of the enolate. The electrophile approaches from the less hindered of the two faces and the degree of stereoselectivity depends on the steric differentiation. Numerous examples of such effects have been observed.51 In ketone and ester enolates that are exocyclic to a conformationally biased cyclohexane ring there is a small preference for... 

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