Transition states organic chemistry

The regioselectivity benefits from the increased polarisation of the alkene moiety, reflected in the increased difference in the orbital coefficients on carbon 1 and 2. The increase in endo-exo selectivity is a result of an increased secondary orbital interaction that can be attributed to the increased orbital coefficient on the carbonyl carbon ". Also increased dipolar interactions, as a result of an increased polarisation, will contribute. Interestingly, Yamamoto has demonstrated that by usirg a very bulky catalyst the endo-pathway can be blocked and an excess of exo product can be obtained The increased di as tereo facial selectivity has been attributed to a more compact transition state for the catalysed reaction as a result of more efficient primary and secondary orbital interactions as well as conformational changes in the complexed dienophile" . Calculations show that, with the polarisation of the dienophile, the extent of asynchronicity in the activated complex increases . Some authors even report a zwitteriorric character of the activated complex of the Lewis-acid catalysed reaction " . Currently, Lewis-acid catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions is everyday practice in synthetic organic chemistry. 

Inferring the structure of a transition state on the basis of the reactants and prod nets of the elementary step m which it is involved is a time honored practice m organic chemistry Speaking specifically of transition states George S Hammond suggested that... 

One of the frmdamental structural facets of organic chemistry, which has been explained most satisfactorily in MO terms, is the existence of a small barrier to rotation about single bonds. In ethane, for example, it is known that the staggered conformation is about 3kcal/mol more stable than the ecl sed conformation so that the eclipsed conformation represents a transition state for transformation of one staggered conformation into another by rotation. 

Up to this point, we have emphasized the stereochemical properties of molecules as objects, without concern for processes which affect the molecular shape. The term dynamic stereochemistry applies to die topology of processes which effect a structural change. The cases that are most important in organic chemistry are chemical reactions, conformational changes, and noncovalent complex formation. In order to understand the stereochemical aspects of a dynamic process, it is essential not only that the stereochemical relationship between starting and product states be established, but also that the spatial features of proposed intermediates and transition states must account for the observed stereochemical transformations. 

This correlation between /7-values for rates and equilibria reflects a long-established principle of physical organic chemistry, the so-called Hammond postulate (Hammond, 1955 see also Farcasiu, 1975). This postulate states that in a series of related reactions the transition state becomes more product-like as the positive enthalpy differences between reagents and products increase. 

Until the 1980s this technique was used mostly in mechanistic investigations to obtain information about the structure and properties of the transition state of the Diels-Alder reaction. Now, the technique is mainly used in applications of synthetic organic chemistry. 

As already mentioned, complexes of chromium(iii), cobalt(iii), rhodium(iii) and iridium(iii) are particularly inert, with substitution reactions often taking many hours or days under relatively forcing conditions. The majority of kinetic studies on the reactions of transition-metal complexes have been performed on complexes of these metal ions. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the rates of reactions are comparable to those in organic chemistry, and the techniques which have been developed for the investigation of such reactions are readily available and appropriate. The time scales of minutes to days are compatible with relatively slow spectroscopic techniques. The second reason is associated with the kinetic inertness of the products. If the products are non-labile, valuable stereochemical information about the course of the substitution reaction may be obtained. Much is known about the stereochemistry of ligand substitution reactions of cobalt(iii) complexes, from which certain inferences about the nature of the intermediates or transition states involved may be drawn. This is also the case for substitution reactions of square-planar complexes of platinum(ii), where study has led to the development of rules to predict the stereochemical course of reactions at this centre. 

As might be expected, the results from both theory and experiment suggest that the solution is more than a simple spectator, and can participate in the surface physicochemical processes in a number of important ways [Cao et al., 2005]. It is well established from physical organic chemistry that the presence of a protic or polar solvent can act to stabilize charged intermediates and transition states. Most C—H, O—H, C—O, and C—C bond breaking processes that occur at the vapor/metal interface are carried out homolytically, whereas, in the presence of aqueous media, the hetero-lytic pathways tend to become more prevalent. Aqueous systems also present the opportunity for rapid proton transfer through the solution phase, which opens up other options in terms of reaction and diffusion. 

The methods of organic synthesis have continued to advance rapidly and we have made an effort to reflect those advances in this Fifth Edition. Among the broad areas that have seen major developments are enantioselective reactions and transition metal catalysis. Computational chemistry is having an expanding impact on synthetic chemistry by evaluating the energy profiles of mechanisms and providing structural representation of unobservable intermediates and transition states. 

Wiest, O., 1998, Transition States in Organic Chemistry Ab Initio in Encyclopedia of Computational Chemistry, Schleyer, P. v. R. (Editor-in-Chief), Wiley, Chichester. 

The quinone-hydroquinone system represents a classic example of a fast, reversible redox system. This type of reversible redox reaction is characteristic of many inorganic systems, such as the interchange between oxidation states in transition metal ions, but it is relatively uncommon in organic chemistry. The reduction of benzoquinone to hydroquinone... 

This volume presents a survey of significant developments in the chemistry of Groups 7 and 8 of the transition metals since the publication of Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry (CCC) in 1987. The material for each element is organized by oxidation state of the metal and also by the nature of the ligands involved, with additional sections covering special features of the coordination chemistry and applications of the complexes. 

Fan, L. and T. Ziegler. 1992. Nonlocal Density Functional Theory as a Practical Tool in Calculations on Transition States and Activation Energies. Applications to Elementary Reaction Steps in Organic Chemistry. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114, 10890. 

Many transition metal compounds with a high oxidation state are strong oxidants and are frequently used in synthetic organic chemistry. These principles of catalysis using such a class of metal complexes have been applied with success to the electrooxidation of organics, the electrode serving to regenerate the oxidant in the presence of substrates. 

As the understanding of the ionic intermediates has progressed, advantage has been taken of the fact that bromination, like SN1 heterolysis, is a carbocation-forming reaction. Kinetic data on this addition have therefore been used to examine in detail how the basic concepts of physical organic chemistry work as regards transition-state shifts with reactivity (Ruasse et al, 1984). Bromination lends itself particularly well to the quantitative application of the BEMA HAPOTHLE (acronym for Bell, Marcus, Hammond, Polanyi, Thornton and Leffler Jencks, 1985). In particular, it has been possible to evaluate the transition-state dependence on the solvent and substituents. The major disadvantage that bromination shares with many... 

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