Mechanism permanganate dihydroxylation

It can be concluded that the [3+2] pathway seems to be the only feasible reaction pathway for the dihydroxylation by permanganate. The study on the free activation energies for the oxidation of a. P unsaturated carboxylic acids by permanganate shows that the [3+2] mechanism is in better agreement with experimental data than the [2+2] pathway. Experimentally determined kinetic isotope effects for cinnamic acid are in good agreement with calculated isotope effects for the [3+2] pathway, therefore it can be concluded that a pathway via an oxetane intermediate is not feasible. 

Theoretical calculations have been fundamental in solving the controversy on the mechanism for the dihydroxylation of double bonds by transition metal oxo complexes. Nowadays, this topic which was the subject of a controversy just a few years ago seems to be solved in favor of the [3+2] pathway, at least in a vast majority of the cases. Despite this spectacular success there are still a number of open issues for this particular reaction which have not been solved, and which continue to be a challenge for computational chemists. Among this, one can mention the correlation between the nature of the substrate and its reactivity with permanganate, and the mechanisms leading to the proportion of products experimentally observed when CrC Cb is applied. Hopefully, these issues will be solved in the future with the help of theoretical calculations. 

A good fit between previously observed linear free Hammett plots and those based on a simple 3 + 2 FMO-based calculation fit well and therefore support a 3 + 2 mechanism for the addition of permanganate to a C=C double bond. A scaling factor allowed the lateness or earliness of the transition state to be adjusted, and thus allowed adjustments that are consistent with the ability of Mn04 to dihydroxylate both electron-rich and electron-poor alkenes. 

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