Reactivity effects rehybridization

Electrophilic Substitution Reactivity Much of the electrophilic reactivity of aromatics is described in great detail in a comprehensive recent book of Taylor [10]. We shall focus attention on the electrophilic substitution reactivity of annelated benzenes and try to interpret the orientational ability of fused small rings. For this purpose we consider here Wheland transition states of the electrophilic substitution reactions. It is also convenient to take the proton as a model of the electrophilic reagent. In order to delineate rehybridization and 7r-electron localization effects, let us consider a series of angularly deformed benzenes (Fig. 21), where two vicinal CH bonds bent toward each other mimick a fused small ring. Angles c of 110° and 94° simulate five and four membered... 

There is rich experimental evidence showing that aryl positions adjacent to strained annelated rings exhibit reduced reactivity towards electrophilic reagents [2-7,98-101], These data are in harmony with the theoretical interpretation in terms of the bond fixation model presented above. It is possible that the ground state charge distribution in some particular fused molecular systems affects propensities of a and f3 atoms to undergo the electrophilic substitution reactions, but interpretation based solely on the rehybridization effect at carbon junction atoms offered by Siegel et al.[9] is obviously unjustified. 

In 1972, Mock considered double-bond reactivity and its relationship to torsional strain, by which he understood the strain imposed on a double bond in medium-ring fra 5-cycloalkenes or by steric compression of large cis substituents [28]. He argued that the loss of 7t overlap due to a torsion about the double bond can be partially compensated by rehybridization in these two situations, leading, respectively, to syn and anti pyramidalization of the double bond consequently, such bonds will favor different modes of addition (cis and trans). The proposition was supported by examples of X-ray structures of strained olefins, STO-3G energy calculations for the twisted and pyramidalized ethylene geometries, and by analysis of the out-of-plane vibrational frequencies of ethylene. Mock concluded that small ground-state distortions may produce sizable effects in the transition states. 

Isotope effect and relative rate studies also suggest an early TS for benzylic chlorination and bromination. The benzylic position is only moderately activated toward uncomplexed chlorine atoms. Relative to ethane, toluene reactivity is increased only by a factor of 3.3. The kinetic isotope effect observed for bromination and chlorination of toluene suggest little rehybridization at the TS. 

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