Molecular orbital conjugated enone

Conjugated enones are more stable than nonconjugated enones for the same reason that conjugated dienes are more stable than nonconjugated dienes (Section 14.1). Interaction between the tt electrons of the C=C bond and the tt electrons of the C=0 group leads to a molecular orbital description for a conjugated enone that shows an interaction of the tt electrons over all four atomic centers (Figure 23.3). 

Molecular orbital theory also predicts that a nucleophile of the sulfide type will bond at the carbon terminus of a conjugated ene carbonyl system that is, the nucleophile will bond with the electrophile in the Michael addition mode of reaction (20). Thus, the reaction of polysulfide dianion with an enone represented by a chalcone may proceed initially in such a manner as shown in Scheme 2, which reproduces one of the several pathways... 

Figure 23.3 The—bonding molecular orbitals of a conjugated enone (propenal) and a conjugated diene (1,3-butadiene) are similar in shape and are spread over the entire v system.

Molecular orbital calculations have suggested that cyclopentenone is intrinsically more x one to conjugate reduction than cyclohexenone " and thus is a good substrate on which to test new 1,2-selective reagents. The selectivity of reduction of both these enones with the best of the new reagents together with the results for 9-BBN-H, the previous reagent of choice, are tabulated for comparison (Table 2). 

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