Radical bromination stereochemistry

Table 3. Stereochemistry of Free-Radical Bromine Addition [5] 4-H02CCgH4CF=CFX 4-H02CCgH4CFBtCFXBr...

Further evidence for a bromine-bridged radical comes from radical substitution of optically active 2-bromobutane. Most of the 2,3-dibromobutane which is formed is racemic, indicating that the stereogenic center is involved in the reaction. A bridged intermediate that can react at either carbon can explain the racemization. When the 3-deuterated reagent is used, it can be shown that the hydrogen (or deuterium) that is abstracted is replaced by bromine with retention of stereochemistry These results are also consistent with a bridged bromine radical. 

This result shows than the initially added trichloromethyl group has little influence on the stereochemistry of the subsequent bromine atom-abstraction. The intermediate 2-(trichlor-omethyl)cyclohexyl radical presumably relaxes to the equatorial conformation faster than bromine-atom abstraction occurs. In contrast with addition to A -octahydronaphthalene, the addition is exclusively /ran -diaxial ... 

The /rans-fiised decalin system is conformationally rigid, and the stereochemistry of the product indicates that the initial addition of the trichloromethyl radical is from the axial direction. This would be expected on stereoelectronic grounds, because the radical should initially interact with the n orbital. The axial trichloromethyl group then shields the adjacent radical position enough to direct the bromine abstraction in the trans sense. 

There are two other mechanistic possibilities, halogen atom abstraction (HAA) and halonium ion abstraction (EL), represented in Schemes 4.4 and 4.5, respectively, so as to display the stereochemistry of the reaction. Both reactions are expected to be faster than outer-sphere electron transfer, owing to stabilizing interactions in the transition state. They are also anticipated to both exhibit antiperiplanar preference, owing to partial delocalization over the C—C—Br framework of the unpaired electron in the HAA case or the electron pair in the EL case. Both mechanisms are compatible with the fact that the activation entropies are about the same as with outer-sphere electron donors (here, aromatic anion radicals). The bromine atom indeed bears three electron pairs located in two orthogonal 4p orbitals, perpendicular to the C—Br bond and in one s orbital. Bonded interactions in the transition... 

The iodination and bromination of intermediate alkylboranes proceed with clean inversion of configuration whilst the radical chlorination reaction leads to loss of stereochemistry (Figure B2.4). 

The research team of J. Tadanier prepared a series of C8-modified 3-deoxy-P-D-manno-2-octulosonic acid analogues as potential inhibitors of CMP-Kdo synthetase. One of the derivatives was prepared from a functionalized olefinic carbohydrate substrate by means of the Wohl-Ziegler bromination. The stereochemistry of the double bond was (Z), however, under the reaction conditions a cis-trans isomerization took place in addition to the bromination at the allylic position (no yield was reported for this step). It is worth noting that the authors did not use a radical initiator for this transformation, the reaction mixture was simply irradiated with a 150W flood lamp. Subsequently the allylic bromide was converted to an allylic azide, which was then subjected to the Staudinger reaction to obtain the corresponding allylic amine. 

The results also indicate that the chlorine and bromine abstraction steps are faster than rotational equilibration, so the stereochemistry can be explained without requiring a bridged radical. 

This stereochemistry is also explained in terms of bromine-bridged radicals. 

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