Controlled radical kinetics

The kinetically controlled radical addition of ethyl mercaptan to ethoxy-acetylene is also trans and sterospecific at low conversions to give cw-l-ethoxy-2-(ethylthio)ethylene (103)7 ... 

H-Azepines 1 undergo a temperature-dependent dimerization process. At low temperatures a kinetically controlled, thermally allowed [6 + 4] 7t-cycloaddition takes place to give the un-symmetrical e.w-adducts, e.g. 2.231-248-249 At higher temperatures (100-200°C) the symmetrical, thermodynamically favored [6 + 6] rc-adducts, e.g. 3, are produced. These [6 + 6] adducts probably arise by a radical process, since a concerted [6 + 6] tt-cycloaddition is forbidden on orbital symmetry grounds, as is a thermal [l,3]-sigmatropic C2 —CIO shift of the unsym-metrical [6 + 4] 7t-dimer. 

The preparation of polymer brushes by controlled radical polymerization from appropriately functionalized polymer chains, surfaces or particles by a grafting from approach has recently attracted a lot of attention.742 743 The advantages of growing a polymer brush directly on a surface include well-defined grafts, when the polymerization kinetics exhibit living character, and stability due to covalent attachment of the polymer chains to the surface. Most work has used ATRP or NMP, though papers on the use of RAFT polymerization in this context also have begun to appear. 

This book will be of major interest to researchers in industry and in academic institutions as a reference source on the factors which control radical polymerization and as an aid in designing polymer syntheses. It is also intended to serve as a text for graduate students in the broad area of polymer chemistry. The book places an emphasis on reaction mechanisms and the organic chemistry of polymerization. It also ties in developments in polymerization kinetics and physical chemistry of the systems to provide a complete picture of this most important subject. 

Generalization of Flory s Theory for Vinyl/Divinyl Copolvmerization Using the Crosslinkinq Density Distribution. Flory s theory of network formation (1,11) consists of the consideration of the most probable combination of the chains, namely, it assumes an equilibrium system. For kinetically controlled systems such as free radical polymerization, modifications to Flory s theory are necessary in order for it to apply to a real system. Using the crosslinking density distribution as a function of the birth conversion of the primary molecule, it is possible to generalize Flory s theory for free radical polymerization. 

Alkoxy (R0 ) radicals react at near diffusion controlled rates with trialkyl phosphites to give phosphoranyl radicals [ROP(OR )3] that typically undergo very fast -scission to generate alkyl radicals (R ) and phosphates [OP(OR )3]. In a mechanistic study, trimethyl phosphite, P(OMe)3, has been used as an efficient and selective trap in oxiranylcarbinyl radical systems formed from haloepoxides under thermal AIBN/n-Bu3SnH conditions at about 80 °C (Scheme 27) [64]. The formation of alkenes resulting from the capture of allyloxy radicals by P(OMe)3 fulfils a prior prediction that, under conditions close to kinetic control, products of C-0 cleavage (path a. Scheme 27), not just those of C-C cleavage (path b. Scheme 27) may result. 

At the initial stage of bulk copolymerization the reaction system represents the diluted solution of macromolecules in monomers. Every radical here is an individual microreactor with boundaries permeable to monomer molecules, whose concentrations in this microreactor are governed by the thermodynamic equilibrium whereas the polymer chain propagation is kinetically controlled. The evolution of the composition of a macroradical X under the increase of its length Z is described by the set of equations ... 

The orbital coefficients obtained from Hiickel calculations predict the terminal position to be the most reactive one, while the AMI model predicts the Cl and C3 positions to be competitive. In polyenes, this is true for the addition of nucleophilic as well as electrophilic radicals, as HOMO and LUMO coefficients are basically identical. Both theoretical methods agree, however, in predicting the Cl position to be considerably more reactive as compared to the C2 position. It must be remembered in this context that FMO-based reactivity predictions are only relevant in kinetically controlled reactions. Under thermodynamic control, the most stable adduct will be formed which, for the case of polyenyl radicals, will most likely be the radical obtained by addition to the C1 position. 

The assumption of a kinetically controlled course of the reaction, however, readily explains the observed results, even though the transition structures have not, as yet, been calculated. Because epoxide opening is exothermic, 39 can be regarded as a simple model for the transition structure according to the Hammond postulate. It is clear from the structure of 39 that the left-hand ethoxy substituent of the epoxide is in close proximity to the ligand of the catalyst, whereas the other substituent hardly encounters any steric interaction. Epoxide opening will release the former interaction. After reduction of the radical, this results in formation of the product with the absolute configuration observed experimentally. 

The positional selectivity on formation of the cydoadducts from 221 is less pronounced than that of the isobenzene 162, but it is the conjugated double of the allene moiety as well that predominantly undergoes the reaction. As demonstrated by the thermolysis of several products, these are formed from 221 under kinetic control. For example, on heating, the styrene adduct 240 and the furan adduct 231 rearranged virtually completely to 241 and 232, which are formally the cycloadducts to the non-conjugated double bond of the allene subunit of 221 [92, 137]. The cause of the selectivity may be the spin-density distribution in the phenylallyl radical entity of the diradical intermediates. 

The a-selectivity for carbon radical addition to propadiene (la) is retained on substituting chlorine or fluorine for hydrogen in radicals of the type CX3 (X=F, Cl), no matter whether the reaction is conducted in the liquid or in the gas phase (Table 11.4) [14, 49-51]. /3-Selective addition to allenes becomes progressively more important for the CC13 radical with an increase in number of methyl substituents [14, 47]. For example, treatment of optically active (P)-(+)-2,4-dimethylpenta-2,3-diene [(P)-(lc)] with BrCCl3 affords a 59 41 mixture of a- and /3-monoadducts [47]. The a-addition product consists of a 20 80 mixture of E- and Z-stereoisomers, whereas the product of /3-addition exclusively exhibits the Z-configuration. The fraction of 2,4-dimethylpenta-2,3-diene (P)-(lc) that was recovered from this reaction mixture had completely retained its optical activity. These results indicate that the a-and the /3-CCl3 addition proceed under kinetic control. If one of the addition steps were reversible, at least partial racemization would inevitably have taken place. 

The rate constants for reaction of Bu3SnH with the primary a-alkoxy radical 24 and the secondary ce-alkoxy radical 29 are in reasonably good agreement. However, one would not expect the primary radical to react less rapidly than the secondary radical. The kinetic ESR method used to calibrate 24 involved a competition method wherein the cyclization reactions competed with diffusion-controlled radical termination reactions, and diffusional rate constants were determined to obtain the absolute rate constants for the clock reactions.88 The LFP calibrations of radical clocks... 

The kinetically controlled Cope rearrangement of 2,5-bis(4-methoxyphen-yl)hexa-l,5-dienes induced by photosensitized electron transfer to DCA was examined by Miyashi and co-workers [101-103]. Remarkable in this context was the temperature-dependent change of the photostationary ratio of this rearrangement, yielding the thermodynamically less stable compound at — 80°C in 96%. A radical cation-cyclization diradical cleavage mechanism (RCCY-DRCL) is... 

The fonnation of an immonium ion from amides and urethanes is under kinetic control at the stage where a proton is lost from the radical-cation initially formed. In the cases of derivatives of uesymmetrical secondary amines, this leads to preferential reaction at an N-CHaR group rather than at N-CHR2 and the kinetically... 

We will see in Chapter 19 that calculations show cyclohexyl radical to be about 8 kcal/mol more stable than cyclopentylmethyl radical. Were the reaction under strict thermodynamic control, products derived from cyclopentylmethyl radical should not be observed at all. However, the transition state corresponding to radical attack on the internal double bond carbon (leading to cyclopentylmethyl radical) is about 3 kcal/mol lower in energy than that corresponding to radical attract on the external double bond carbon (leading to cyclohexyl radical). This translates into roughly a 99 1 ratio of major minor products (favoring products derived from cyclopentylmethyl radical) in accord to what is actually observed. The reaction is apparently under kinetic control. 

The calculated difference in transition-state energies in 2.3 kcal/ mol in favor of ring closure to the cyclopentylmethyl radical. Inclusion of entropy increases this difference to around 2.7 kcal/ mol. Methylcyclopentane is in fact the kinetic product and only about 1 - 2% ofthe total product mixture should be cyclohexane. This is what is observed, suggesting that the radical mechanism is not at fault but that the reaction is under kinetic control. 

Following the reduction of the substrates by a solvated electron, the solvent transfers a proton to the radical anions, 106 and 108 the resulting radicals, 107 and 109, are then reduced again, and the anions, 107 and 109, are proto-nated once more. The regiochemistry of the protonation of 107 is kinetically controlled the ready inversion of the alkenyl free radical 109 is the key to the formation of the frani-alkene. 

The voltammetric data and other relevant kinetic and thermodynamic information are summarized in Table 2. While for X = H the initial ET controls the electrode rate, as indicated by the rather large p shift and peak width, the electrode process is, at low scan rates, under mixed ET-bond cleavage kinetic control (see Section 2) for X = Ph, and CN. Although the voltammetric reduction of these ethers is irreversible, in the case of the COMe derivative, some reversibility starts to show up at 500 Vs in fact, this reduction features a classical case of Nernstian ET followed by a first-order reaction. The reduction of the nitro derivative is reversible even at very low scan rate although, on a much longer timescale, this radical anion also decays. 

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