Molecular orbitals pyrrole

Molecular orbital Pyrrole Furan Thiophene Selenophene Tellurophene... 

Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution. The Tt-excessive character of the pyrrole ring makes the indole ring susceptible to electrophilic attack. The reactivity is greater at the 3-position than at the 2-position. This reactivity pattern is suggested both by electron density distributions calculated by molecular orbital methods and by the relative energies of the intermediates for electrophilic substitution, as represented by the protonated stmctures (7a) and (7b). Stmcture (7b) is more favorable than (7a) because it retains the ben2enoid character of the carbocycHc ring (12). 

Examine pyrrole s highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) to see if your can predict the most favorable protonation site. Which of the pyrrole s conjugate acids (N protonated, C2 proto noted, C3 proto noted pyrrole) is lowest in energy Examine electrostatic potential maps to see if the lowest-energy form is also that in which the positive charged is best delocalized. Rationalize your result using resonance arguments. What should be the favored substitution product ... 

In addition to electrophilic attack on the pyrrole ring in indole, there is the possibility for additions to the fused benzene ring. First examine the highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of indole. Which atoms contribute the most What should be the favored position for electrophilic attack Next, compare the energies of the various protonated forms of indole (C protonated only). These serve as models for adducts formed upon electrophilic addition. Which carbon on the pyrrole ring (C2 or C3) is favored for protonation Is this the same as the preference in pyrrole itself (see Chapter 15, Problem 2)1 If not, try to explain why not. Which of the carbons on the benzene ring is most susceptible to protonation Rationalize your result based on what you know about the reactivity of substituted benzenes toward electrophiles. Are any of the benzene carbons as reactive as the most reactive pyrrole carbon Explain. 

The phosphorus analogue of pyrrole, phosphole, has a degree of aromatic character, according to molecular orbital calculations and nmr spectra (Brown, 1962 Chuchman et al., 1971). 1-Methyl-phosphole has a p/fg-value of 0-5 (Quin et al., 1969), much higher than that of pyrrole. It polymerizes rapidly in aqueous acid. The site of protonation of 1,2,5-triphenylphosphole is phosphorus according to the infrared spectra of some of its stable salts (Chuchman et al., 1971). 

We can draw Frost circles (see Section 2.9.3) to show the relative energies of the molecular orbitals for pyridine and pyrrole. The picture for pyridine is essentially the same as for benzene, six jt electrons forming an energetically favourable closed shell (Figure 11.1). For pyrrole, we also get a closed shell, and there is considerable aromatic stabilization over electrons in the six atomic orbitals. 

Figure 11.1 Relative energies of pyridine and pyrrole molecular orbitals from Frost circles...

The gas phase basicities at both the a- and (3-positions in five-membered heterocycles have been studied by ion cyclotron resonance equilibrium and bracketing experiments on deuteriated substrates. a-Protonation is preferred by 2.8-4.6 kcal mol-1 for both furan and thiophene as compared to 0-2.9 kcal mol 1 for pyrrole (81NJC505) and heteroatom protonation is much less favored than a-protonation. Semiempirical (MNDO) molecular orbital calculations have provided quantitative confirmation of the above conclusions. 

Examine pyrrole s highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) to see if your can predict the most favorable protonation site. Which of the pyrrole s conjugate acids (N protonated, C2 proto noted, C3 protonated pyrrole) is... 

Over the past 20 years and, in particular since 1955, many theoretical studies of the electronic structure of pyrrole using the molecular orbital approach with varying degrees of refinement have been reported. The 7r-electronic structure of pyrrole has been extensively discussed in terms of both the simple Hiickel molecular orbital (LCAO) theory37- 41-55-65 and the more sophisticated self-consistent field molecular orbital method (SCFMO method).18- 66-77 Extended... 

Molecular orbital calculations have also been made for carbonyl derivatives of pyrrole 97,98 and for 2-phenylpyrrole."... 

The valence bond method has not been used as widely as the molecular orbital approach. With the inclusion of polar structures, however, the valence bond method gives correct orientation for electrophilic substitution and a calculated dipole moment close to the experimental value.100 An application of the one-center method of the 7r-electron system of pyrrole gives electron densities of 1.612, 1.167, and 1.028 on the nitrogen atom and the a- and /3-carbon atoms, respectively.101 Transition energies and the dipole moment by this method are in accord with the observed values. 

Homonuclear correlation spectroscopy (COSY) experiments (see Chapter 9) substantiate the theoretical predictions, based on molecular orbital calculation, of the pattern of spin delocalization in the 3e orbitals of low-spin Fe(III) complexes of unsymmetrically substituted tetraphenylporphyrins [46]. Furthermore, the correlations observed show that this n electron spin density distribution is differently modified by the electronic properties of a mono-orf/io-substituted derivative, depending on the distribution of the electronic effect over both sets of pyrrole rings or only over the immediately adjacent pyrrole rings [46]. No NOESY cross peaks are detectable, consistently with expectations of small NOEs for relatively small molecules and effective paramagnetic relaxation [47]. 

The presence of an aroyl fragment in azomethine ylides obtained from opening of three-membered rings in the case of dipolarophiles with high LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) energy or in the absence of an external dipolarophile can lead to the possibility of such unusual reactions as intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition [80]. Examples of such reactions are the thermal isomerization of aroyl aziridines 63 into a pyrrole derivative 64 [81, 82] or into 2,5-diphenyloxazole 65 (in the presence of diphenyliodonium iodide) [83] (Scheme 1.16). 

C (Table 5). These measurements can be related to the approach adopted by Duben29 who used the Hiickel MO theory to compare the reactivity of five-and six-membered ring products containing S or N. Six-membered rings, such as pyridine, produced a different distribution of 7r-molecular orbitals from that produced by five-membered rings, such as thiophene or pyrrole, in adsorbed states this factor could be the most important one when comparing the catalytic activities of different compounds. 

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