Radicals, anti-Markovnikov phenyl

Se-phenyl areneselenosulfonates (24) undergo facile free-radical addition to alkenes to produce / -phenylseleno sulfones (25) in excellent yield86,87 (see Scheme 7). The addition occurs regiospecifically and affords anti-Markovnikov products contrary to the analogous boron trifluoride catalyzed reaction which produces exclusively Markovnikov and highly stereospecific products86 (equation 37). Reaction 36 has been shown to have the radical... 

Products of addition to styrene double bonds can arise as a result of light induced electron transfer reactions. Lewis has studied the intramolecular reaction of l-phenyl-w-amino alkenes (422) 289,290 products arise from electron transfer from the amine nitrogen to the excited state of the styryl group followed by intramolecular proton transfer in the radical ion pair produced. The resultant biradical then couples to yield the isolated products (423) and (424). Sensitisation of the intermolecular analogue of this reaction by 1,4-dicyanobenzene has been reported and is proposed to occur by electron transfer from the styrene to the excited state of the sensitiser followed by attack of an amine on the styrene radical cation. This ultimately leads to the product of anti-Markovnikov addition of the amine across the double bond of the styrene. This is similar to the sequence long since established by... 

The ET-sensitized photoamination of 1,1-diarylethylenes with ammonia and most primary amines yields the anti-Markovnikov adducts. Photoamination of unsymmetrically substituted stil-benes yields mixtures of regioisomers 15 and 16. Modest re-gioselectivity is observed for p-methyl or p-chloro substituents however, highly selective formation of adduct 15 is observed for the p-methoxy substituent (Table 5). Selective formation of 15 was attributed to the effect of the methoxy substituent on the charge distribution in the stilbene cation radical. This re-gioselectivity has been exploited in the synthesis of intermediates in the preparation of isoquinolines and other alkaloids." Photoamination of 1-phenyl-3,4-dihydronaphthalene yields a mixture of syn and anti adducts 17 and 18 (Scheme 5)." Use of bulky primary amines favors formation of the syn adduct (Table 5), presumably as a consequence of selective anti protonation of the intermediate carbanion. 

The authors proposed a mechanism based on a cage-mediated guest-to-host electron transfer (Fig. 9.30) in which the cage acted as a photosensitizing molecular flask. Excitement of the coordination cage, followed by electron transfer from alkyne to an electron-deficient cage and the reaction of a molecule of water (solvent) with the obtained phenyl alkyne radical cation, results in benzylic radicals and subsequently the anti-Markovnikov product. 

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