Propyne calculations

In the course of investigation of reactivity of the mesoionic compound 44 (Scheme 2) the question arose if this bicyclic system participates in Diels-Alder reactions as an electron-rich or an electron-poor component <1999T13703>. The energy level of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) orbitals were calculated by PM3 method. Comparison of these values with those of two different dienophiles (dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD) and 1,1-diethylamino-l-propyne) suggested that a faster cycloaddition can be expected with the electron-rich ynamine, that is, the Diels-Alder reaction of inverse electron demand is preferred. The experimental results seemed to support this assumption. 

The isomers of the simplest allene, 1,2-propadiene 1, are propyne 2 and cydopro-pene 3 (Scheme 1.2). Their isomerization engergies have been measured and calculated [2-4]. Compound 2 is clearly the most stable isomer, 1 lies 2.1 kj higher and 3 about 22.3 kj. Hence in principle, if reversible, thermodynamics of an equilibrium should favor the alkyne. However, several factors can influence this in two ways, i.e. a change of the relative thermodynamic stability, for example by substituents, or a... 

With the aid of 13C NMR, 6Li NMR and XH HOESY (heteronuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy) NMR of a-lithiomethoxyallene (106) and l-lithio-l-ethoxy-3-J-butylallene (107) as well as by ab initio model calculations on monomeric and dimeric a-lithiohy-droxyallene, Schleyer and coworkers64 proved that 106 and 107 are dimeric in THF (106 forms a tetramer in diethyl ether) with a nonclassical 1,3-bridged structure. The 13C NMR spectrum of allenyllithium in THF is also in agreement with the allenic-type structure the chemical shift of C2 (196.4 ppm) resembles that of neutral allene (212.6 ppm), rather than C2 of propyne (82.4 ppm). 

The kinetics and mechanism of pyrrole pyrolysis were investigated by ab initio quantum-chemical calculations. It was revealed that pyrrole undergoes tautomerization to form 2H- and 37/-pyrroles prior to any thermal decomposition. It has been shown that the major product, HCN, arises from a hydrogen migration in pyrrole to form a cyclic carbene with the NH bond intact. Ring scission of the carbene leads to an allenic imine of HCN and propyne which is the lowest energy pathway. The 277-pyrrole... 

The reaction of 1-phenyl-l-propyne (IPP) was then studied after modilying the catalyst with trans-cinnamaldehyde (TCA), trans-cinnamonitrile (TCN), 3-phenylpropionitrile (3PPN), and 3-phenylpropylamine (3PPA). The first-order rate constant calculated for the loss of 1-phenyl-l-propyne in each of the systems is reported in Table 1. All the modifiers were unreactive under the conditions used. 

Thayer et al. (240-242) on propynal are the only reasonably complete nonradiative rate calculations done on a carbonyl. Their values for the intersystem crossing and internal conversion rates are low by factors of 10 and 80, respectively, for the vibrationless excited state when compared to the experimental values. They correctly predict the energy dependence of the decay channels, although they fail to predict the large enhancement of the intersystem crossing rate for three vibronic levels. Also, the energy dependence of the collision-induced nonradiative transitions seems to be well reproduced. 

Ah initio calculations on the potential energy surface 513 relevant to propynal photodissociation to yield C2H2 +... 

Although exo-endo selectivity in the Diels-Alder reaction of olefinic dienophiles has been extensively studied both experimentally and theoretically [31], exo-endo selectivity of the transition structure in the reaction of acetylenic dienophiles has not previously been investigated, because the adducts produced via exo- or endo-transi-tion-state assembly are identical diastereomerically. We used ab initio molecular orbital calculations at the RHF/6-31G level [32] to identify the transition struetures of simple processes of this type, i.e. acid-free and BFs-promoted reactions of cyclopenta-diene and propynal (Fig. 9). As expected, our calculations showed that the exo transition structures are more stable than the endo structures by 0.8 kcal mol" for the former reaction and by 2.0 and 2.4 kcal moF for anti and syn pairs, respectively, for the latter. These calculations strongly suggest the predominance of an exo transition structure and its enhancement by coordination of the Lewis acid. 

The fl ri-preference of the BF3-propynal complex in the transition-state assembly, as suggested by our calculations, might be adapted to complexes with bulky chiral Lewis acids such as 2,4 and 6. 

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