Mechanistic pathways

There are two competing views as to the first adsorption step of the oxygen molecule. Following early propositions by Damjanovic [79,80], the rate-determining step of the ORR sequence starts with simultaneous charge and proton transfer to adsorbed oxygen molecules forming an 02H species adsorbed on the electrode metal atom M  

0-0 bond breaking and further reduction occurs in subsequent reaction steps according to 

Damjanovic s model also proposed the role of adsorbed surface OH species stemming from the interaction of water with electrode surface atoms M according to 

This reaction was believed to account for the experimentally observed low Tafel slope of about —60 mV per decade of current (unit mV/dec) compared to the normal -20 mV/dec (see definition of Tafel slope in Section 2.3) which is typically indicative of a one-electron transfer process. 

Another view was advocated by Yeager [81,82] who proposed dissociative adsorption of molecular oxygen as the initial step, possibly coupled with a simultaneous charge transfer, according to 

---

This reaction is simply the reverse of the reaction by which acetals are formed—acetal formation is favored by excess alcohol acetal hydrolysis by excess water Acetal for matron and acetal hydrolysis share the same mechanistic pathway but travel along that pathway m opposite directions In the following section you 11 see a clever way m which acetal formation and hydrolysis have been applied to synthetic organic chemistry... 

Photolysis of Thiols. Thiols undergo photolytic reactions (46—48). These reactions proceed as shown in equations 31 and 32. A secondary mechanistic pathway is also observed. This is shown in equations 33 and 34. 

The influence of boron-bonded ligands on the kinetics and mechanistic pathways of hydrolysis of amine boranes has been examined (37,38). The stoichiometry of trimetbyl amine azidoborane [61652-29-7] hydrolysis in acidic solution is given in equation 10. It is suggested that protonation occurs at the azide ligand enabling its departure as the relatively labile HN species. 

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. 

The addition of nitronic esters to alkynes to produce aziridines was postulated to proceed through a 4-isoxazoline as one of the intermediates (Scheme 132). A biradical intermediate (492) was also included in the mechanistic pathway for the reaction (77JA6667). 

The significance of such rudimentary probes of mechanistic pathways rests with their dispelling the myth of fluorine s unpredictability In fact, fluorine, though highly reactive and with few activation barriers is highly predictable if the energy density (exothermicity per unit volume) of its reactions can be controlled so as not to disturb the integrity of the substrates with which it reacts Precise control of... 

The following mechanistic pathways were proposed for the formation of this dimer. 

In the arylations of enamines with very reactive aryl halides (352,370) such as 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene, the closely related mechanistic pathway of addition of the enamine to the aromatic system, followed by elimination of halide ion, can be assumed. The use of n-nitroarylhalides furnishes compounds which can be converted to indolic products by reductive cycliza-tion. Less reactive aryl halides, such as p-nitrochlorobenzene, lead only to N-arylation or oxidation products of the enamines under more vigorous conditions. 

Stereoselective epoxidation can be realized through either substrate-controlled (e.g. 35 —> 36) or reagent-controlled approaches. A classic example is the epoxidation of 4-t-butylcyclohexanone. When sulfonium ylide 2 was utilized, the more reactive ylide irreversibly attacked the carbonyl from the axial direction to offer predominantly epoxide 37. When the less reactive sulfoxonium ylide 1 was used, the nucleophilic addition to the carbonyl was reversible, giving rise to the thermodynamically more stable, equatorially coupled betaine, which subsequently eliminated to deliver epoxide 38. Thus, stereoselective epoxidation was achieved from different mechanistic pathways taken by different sulfur ylides. In another case, reaction of aldehyde 38 with sulfonium ylide 2 only gave moderate stereoselectivity (41 40 = 1.5/1), whereas employment of sulfoxonium ylide 1 led to a ratio of 41 40 = 13/1. The best stereoselectivity was accomplished using aminosulfoxonium ylide 25, leading to a ratio of 41 40 = 30/1. For ketone 42, a complete reversal of stereochemistry was observed when it was treated with sulfoxonium ylide 1 and sulfonium ylide 2, respectively. ... 

When iV-substituted acylanilides 9 are treated under the same reaction conditions, the corresponding lV-substituted-2-quinolones 10 are isolated in high yields. This reaction was initially misinterpreted, but it has since been demonstrated to follow a similar mechanistic pathway to the Meth-Cohn quinoline synthesis. ... 

Since the 1930s several mechanistic pathways have been proposed for the Biginelli In 1933, Folkers and Johnson reported that one of three intermediates... 

For the reaction of carbonyl compounds with conjugated dienes two mechanistic pathways have generally been taken into account when Lewis acid-catalyzed reactions are considered ... 

The mechanistic pathway of the ordinary Friedlander synthesis is not rigorously known. Two steps are formulated. In a first step a condensation reaction, catalyzed by acid or base, takes place, that can lead to formation of two different types of products (a) an imine (Schiff base) 4, or (b) an o ,/3-unsaturated carbonyl compound 5 ... 

The mechanistic pathway" " can be divided into three steps 1. formation of the activating agent from triphenylphosphine and diethyl azodicarboxylate (DEAD) or diisopropyl azodicarboxylate (DIAD) 2. activation of the substrate alcohol 1 3. a bimolecular nucleophilic substitution (Sn2) at the activated carbon center. 

Alternatively a Mannich-like pathway may be followed (see Mannich reaction), where ammonia reacts with the aldehyde 1 to give an intermediate iminium species, that adds hydrogen cyanide to give the a-amino nitrile 2. The actual mechanistic pathway followed depends on substrate structure and reaction conditions. 

A vinylic carbocation has an sp-hybridized carbon and generally forms less readily than an alkyl carbocation (Figure 8.2). As a rule, a secondary vinylic carbocation forms about as readily as a primary alkyl carbocation, but a primary vinylic carbocation is so difficult to form that there is no clear evidence it even exists. Thus, many alkyne additions occur through more complex mechanistic pathways. 

Propose a mechanistic pathway for the biosynthesis of cr-terpineol from geranyl diphosphate. 

Problem 27.7 Propose mechanistic pathways for the biosynthetic formation of the following terpenes ... 

Flexibilene, a compound isolated from marine coral, is the only known terpenoid to contain a 15-membered ring. What is the structure of the acyclic biosynthetic precursor of flexibilene Show the mechanistic pathway for the biosynthesis. 

With respect to reaction mechanism, it is likely that CpCo(CO)2-mediated alkyne cyclotrimerizations proceed through discrete orga-nometallic intermediates and are therefore not concerted.12 A plausible mechanistic pathway for the CpCo(CO)2-catalyzed cyclotri-... 

Another useful class of palladium-catalyzed cycloisomerizations is based on the general mechanistic pathway shown in Scheme 13. In this chemistry, a hydridopalladium acetate complex is regarded as the catalytically active species.27b-29 According to this pathway, coordination of a generic enyne such as 59 to the palladium metal center facilitates a hydropalladation reaction to give intermediate 60. With a pendant alkene, 60 can then participate in a ring-form-... 

The complexity of the system consisting of the diazonium ion and the four reaction products shown in Scheme 5-14 is evident. In contrast to the two-step reaction sequence diazonium ion <= (Z)-diazohydroxide <= (Z)-diazoate (Scheme 5-1 in Sec. 5.1), equilibrium measurements alone cannot give unambiguous evidence for the elucidation of the mechanistic pathway from, for example, diazonium ion to ( )-diazoate. Indeed, kinetic considerations show that, depending on the reaction conditions (pH etc.) and the reactivity of a given diazonium ion (substituents, aromatic or heteroaromatic ring), different pathways become dominant. 

The elimination of sulfur dioxide from thiirane dioxides leading to the corresponding alkenes is not the only result of base-induced reactions other products are also formed. This fact raises the question of the mechanistic pathway of this reaction. In general, the thiirane dioxide is treated with a large excess of the base in an appropriate solvent for several hours at room temperature or below. Bases commonly used are 2n NaOH (in water), NaOCH3 (in methanol), t-BuO-K + (in f-BuOH) and BuLi (in tetrahydrofuran) or KOH-CCU (in t-BuOH)16-19"112 113. 

Expansions of cyclic sulfones to cyclic sulfinates are known124, and a similar mechanistic pathway of the expansion of the three-membered ring to a four-membered ring has been suggested for the photolytic fragmentation of the 2,3-diphenylthiirene oxide 18a22. 

Although the nucleophilic addition of secondary amines to thiirene dioxides can be interpreted as following the same mechanistic pathway, the reaction was found to be second order in amine119 (which is typical for the addition of amines to olefins in appropriate solvents13 2 133), and the addition is syn. As a result, mechanisms with a cyclic-concerted addition across the carbon-carbon bond, or a stepwise addition involving two molecules of amine per one molecule of thiirene dioxide, have been proposed. 

---