Radicals, anions methyl

Interest in the synthesis of 19-norsteroids as orally active progestins prompted efforts to remove the C19 angular methyl substituent of readily available steroid precursors. Industrial applications include the direct conversion of androsta-l,4-diene-3,17-dione [897-06-3] (92) to estrone [53-16-7] (26) by thermolysis in mineral oil at about 500°C (136), and reductive elimination of the angular methyl group of the 17-ketal of the dione [2398-63-2] (93) with lithium biphenyl radical anion to form the 17-ketal of estrone [900-83-4] (94) (137). 

Fig. 1.9. Total energy as a function of distortion from planarity for methyl cation, methyl radical, and methyl anion. [Reproduced from J. Am. Chem. Soc. 98 6483 (1976) by permission of the American Chemical Society.]...

The EPR spectra of semidione radical anions can provide information on the spin density at the individual atoms. "The semidione derived from butane-2,3-dione, for example, has a spin density of 0.22 at each oxygen and 0.23 at each carbonyl carbon. The small amount of remaining spin density is associated with the methyl groups. This extensive delocalization is consistent with the resonance picture of the semidione radical anion. 

The proposed mechanism for the conversion of the furanone 118 to the spiro-cyclic lactones 119 and 120 involves electron transfer to the a -unsaturated methyl ester electrophore to generate an anion radical 118 which cyclizes on the /3-carbon of the furanone. The resulting radical anion 121 acquires a proton, giving rise to the neutral radical 122, which undergoes successive electron transfer and protonation to afford the lactones 119 and 120 (Scheme 38) (91T383). 

The reduced alkyl complexes are reoxidized by O2 to the iron(lll) alkyls. The corresponding diamagnetic phthalocyanine iron(ll) alkyl complexes, rFe(Pc)R), were prepared by two-electron reduction of Fe(Pc) by LiAIFl4 to give [Fe(Pc) (actually the Fe(I) phthalocyanine radical anion) followed by reaction with Mel, Etl or i-PrBr. The methyl compound, [Fe(Pc)CHi] was characterized by X-ray crystallography. ... 

Ito and Matsuda studied the y-radiolysis of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MTHF) solutions of diphenyl sulfone and dibenzothiophene-S,S-dioxide (DBTSD) at 77 K. They found that the radical anions of these sulfone compounds are formed and have intense absorption bands at 1030 nm and 850 nm, respectively. The blue glassy solution of y-irradiated diphenyl sulfone has absorption bands at both 1030 nm and 360 nm while the absorption spectrum of the benzenesulfonyl radical formed by UV irradiation of diphenyl sulfone solution at 77 K showed only a peak at 382 nm. Gamma-irradiated phenyl methyl sulfone solution showed an absorption band only at 385 nm. Consequently the appearance of the absorption bands in 800-1030 nm of diphenyl sulfone and DBTSD may suggest that the unpaired electron is delocalized on two phenyl rings. The same authors studied the radiolysis of MTHF solutions of disulfones (diphenyl and dihexyl disulfones). They found a blue coloring of the solution by the y-radiolysis of diphenyl disulfone and dihexyl disulfone due to absorption peaks at 695 nm and 690 nm respectively, besides smaller absorptions at 300-400 nm. Comparing these results to the previous observation, that phenyl methyl sulfone solution absorbs only at 398 nm, results in the conclusion that the absorption band at 690 nm is due to the linked two sulfone moieties. The authors found that substituents on the phenyl ring lead to shifts in the absorption maxima of the... 

The rigidity of the hexacyclic cage structure of koumine (18) renders some of its chemical behavior quite unusual, for instance, the resistance to Hofmann degradation shown by /Va-acetyldihydrokoumine methyl hydroxide (27). However, owing to the presence of a /J-aromatic imino system in 18, reductive cleavage by sodium-alcohol to yield dihydrokouminol (39) proceeds smoothly. This reaction has been considered to occur through a radical-anion mechanism as indicated in Scheme 12 (27). 

Polymethyl methacrylate Methyl methacrylate Free radical Anionic... 

As the final example in this section, a Li-mediated carboaddition/carbocycliza-tion process will be described. Thus, Cohen and coworkers observed a 5-e%o-trig-cy-clization by reaction of the lithium compound 2-349 and a-methyl styrene 2-350 to give 2-352 via 2-351 (Scheme 2.82). Quenching of 2-352 with methanol then led to the final product 2-353 [189]. In this process, 2-349 is obtained by a reductive lithia-tion of the corresponding phenyl thioether 2-348 with the radical anion lithium 1-(dimethylamino)naphthalenide (LDMAN) (2-354). Instead of the homoallylic substance 2-348, bishomoallylthioesters can also be used to provide substituted six-membered ring compounds. 

The / -xylene anion radical is easiest. We expect to have four equivalent ring protons and six equivalent methyl protons. Thus we expect to see a 1 4 6 4 1 quintet of 1 6 15 20 15 6 1 septets. Spectrum (b) shows the quintet clearly, but the CH3 proton coupling is poorly resolved. No other isomer has a quintet, so we can assign (b) to the p-xylene radical anion. 

ESR spectroscopy, however, revealed that 75, which one may call a ketyl radical, was not present in alkaline solutions of 77 in absence of oxidizing agents. The signal actually observed was that of 9-hydroxy-N,N -dimethyl-9,9 -biacridan radical 76. It was suggested that this radical was formed by one-electron transfer from N-methyl-acridone radical anion 75 to lucigenin monocarbinol 77, or by addition of hydroxide ion to lucigenin radical cation 78 (formed from lucigenin by one-electron transfer by the ketyl 75). 

Chemically inert triplet quenchers e.g. trans-stilbene, anthracene, or pyrene, suppress the characteristic chemiluminescence of radical-ion recombination. When these quenchers are capable of fluorescence, as are anthracene and pyrene, the energy of the radical-ion recombination reaction is used for the excitation of the quencher fluorescence 15°). Trans-stilbene is a chemically inert 162> triplet quencher which is especially efficient where the energy of the first excited triplet state of a primary product is about 0.2 eV above that of trans-stilbene 163>. This condition is realized, for example, in the energy-deficient chemiluminescent system 10-methyl-phenothiazian radical cation and fluoranthene radical anion 164>. 

The redox chemistry of [4]radialenes shows similarities as well as differences with respect to [3]radialenes (see elsewhere1 for a more detailed comparison). The simplest [4]radialene for which a redox chemistry in solution is known appears to be octa-methyl[4]radialene (94). It has been converted into the radical anion 94 (with potassium, [2.2.2]cryptand, THF, 200 K) and into the radical cation 94 + (with AICI3/CH2CI2, 180 K)82. Both species are kinetically unstable, but the radical cation is less stable than the radical anion and disappears even at 180 K within 2 hours, probably by polymerization. For the success of the oxidation of 94 with the one-electron transfer system... 

Considerable interest has been reported in the radiolytic reactions of radiosensitiz-ing nitroimidazoles such ns Metronidazole, 2-methyl-5-nitro-l//-imidazole-1-ethanol (52). Again loss of the nitro function as nitrite appears to be one of the principal events. The formation of nitrite from /-irradiation of the Ni(II) complex of the imidazole 52 arises by hydroxy radical attack to form the radical anion. This either eliminates nitrite or undergoes a four-electron reduction to a hydroxylamino derivative68,69. 

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