Quadricyclane from norbomadiene

Because of the low reduction potential of TCB, the energy content of the radical ion pair resulting from the reaction of triplet excited sensitizer 3TCB and many olefins is insufficient lead to the triplet state of the olefins. In this case the isomerization takes place via a chain radical-cation mechanism [194, 195], The same electron acceptor also induces the electron transfer-sensitized valence isomerization of quadricyclane to norbomadiene [196, 197],... 

One of the interesting molecules that has been studied in considerable detail is nor-bomadiene (80). Much of this interest has been associated with the interactions between the double bonds of the system. Thus irradiation affords quadricyclane (81). This area of study will be discussed later in this chapter. The radical cation 82 can also be formed from both norbomadiene and quadricyclane by irradiation in acetonitrile/methanol solution with the DCB/phenanthrene sensitizer system. Several products (Scheme 2) are formed in low yield and it should be noted that there is little difference in the yields of products obtained from either starting material. However, it is evident that attack by methanol occurs from the exo face32. 

Photocyclizations are usually observed with symmetric systems. Indeed, when vinyl-vinyl bridging is equally possible for the four alkenic carbons, a [2 + 2] photocyclization can occur. As an example, norbomadiene prefers to give quadricyclane via photocyclization rather than the tricyclic di-ir-methane product. The latter, however, has been generat from the appropiate azoalkane as shown in... 

Many studies used radiation chemistry to produce the radical and radical cations and anions of various dienes in order to measure their properties. Extensive work was devoted to the radical cation of norbomadiene in order to solve the question whether it is identical with the cation radical of quadricyclane . Desrosiers and Trifunac produced radical cations of 1,4-cyclohexadiene by pulse radiolysis in several solvents and measured by time-resolved fluorescence-detected magnetic resonance the ESR spectra of the cation radical. The cation radical of 1,4-cyclohexadiene was produced by charge transfer from saturated hydrocarbon cations formed by radiolysis of the solvent. In a similar system, the radical cations of 1,3- and 1,4-cyclohexadiene were studied in a zeolite matrix and their isomerization reactions were studied. Dienyl radicals similar to many other kinds of radicals were formed by radiolysis inside an admantane matrix. Korth and coworkers used this method to create cyclooctatrienyl radicals by radiolysis of bicyclo[5.1.0]octa-2,5-diene in admantane-Di6 matrix, or of bromocyclooctatriene in the same matrix. Williams and coworkers irradiated 1,5-hexadiene in CFCI3 matrix to obtain the radical cation which was found to undergo cyclization to the cyclohexene radical cation through the intermediate cyclohexane-1,4-diyl radical cation. 

One typical example is given by G. Kaupp with the [2+2] cycloaddition of diphenyl-acetylene to 1,4-dioxene leading to a bicyclic cyclobutene in good yield (cf. iv of this chapter). Another example is presented by T. Miyashi starting from naphthoquinonor-bomadiene. In an intramolecular reaction a quadricyclane derivative is quantitatively formed upon irradiation at X > 400 nm. It is assumed that this process involves the diketo-norbomadiene in its triplet state. Although the spin multiplicity of intermediates have not... 

The Ni -catalysed (2+2) cycloaddition of activated olefins such as acrylonitrile or acrylic acid esters to quadricyclane which gives endo- and exo-substituted products is complicated particularly in the case of 1,2-disubstituted olefins by a competing isomerization of quadricyclane to norbornadiene. Norbomadiene gives identical cycloadducts under these conditions with a similar isomer ratio. Kinetic studies of the cycloaddition reactions of quadricyclane gave a plot of log [quadricyclane]t o/ [quadricyclane]i=t against time which exhibited a marked deviation from linearity due to the retarding effect of norbomadiene which is also formed and in turn coordinates to the Ni catalyst. Scheme 11 accounts for these observations. 

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