Resonance stability resulting from

The increase in stability resulting from resonance or electron delocalization is important in the discussion of a great variety of chemical questions. A partial list of topics should stress this point. Properties of dyes, ultraviolet absorption, bond strengths, thermal stabilities, free radical reactions, heats of reaction, and rates of chemical reactions in general may be influenced by resonance stabilization in the chemical species involved. 

Radicals substituted a to the amide linkage, 24, have been used in several studies to control stereochemistry in radical transformations, while radicals substituted a to esters, 25, and ethers, 26, have been used on a few occasions. Resonance structures for each of these radicals (A and B) can be written as shown in 24-26, with stabilization resulting from delocalization of the odd electron into the adjacent functional group. This resonance delocalization also restricts the geometry of these radicals, maximum delocalization being obtained when overlap between the radical and adjacent group is highest. 

A common numerical application of MO calculations is to compare the stability of related compounds. For example, in the discussion of both resonance and qualitative MQ theory, we stated that stabilization results from attachment of conjugating substituents to double bonds. We might ask, How much stabilization One way to answer this question is to compare the total energy of the two compounds, but since they are not isomers, simple numerical comparison is not feasible. We discuss various ways to make the comparison, and some of the pitfalls, in Chapter 3, but one method is to use isodesmic reactions. These are hypothetical reactions in which the number of each kind of bond is the same on each side of the equation. For the case of substituents on double bonds the isodesmic reaction below estimates the added stabilization, since it is balanced with respect to bond types. Any extra stabilization owing to substituents will appear as an energy difference. 

The results of the derivation (which is reproduced in Appendix A) are summarized in Figure 7. This figure applies to both reactive and resonance stabilized (such as benzene) systems. The compounds A and B are the reactant and product in a pericyclic reaction, or the two equivalent Kekule structures in an aromatic system. The parameter t, is the reaction coordinate in a pericyclic reaction or the coordinate interchanging two Kekule structures in aromatic (and antiaromatic) systems. The avoided crossing model [26-28] predicts that the two eigenfunctions of the two-state system may be fomred by in-phase and out-of-phase combinations of the noninteracting basic states A) and B). State A) differs from B) by the spin-pairing scheme. 

The mobility of the proton in position 2 of a quaternized molecule and the kinetics of exchange with deuterium has been studied extensively (18-20) it is increased in a basic medium (21-23). The rate of exchange is close to that obtained with the base itself, and the protonated form is supposed to be the active intermediate (236, 664). The remarkable lability of 2-H has been ascribed to a number of factors, including a possible stabilizing resonance effect with contributions of both carbene and ylid structure. This latter may result from the interaction of a d orbital at the sulfur atom with the cr orbital out of the ring at C-2 (21). 

Resonance theory can also account for the stability of the allyl radical. For example, to form an ethylene radical from ethylene requites a bond dissociation energy of 410 kj/mol (98 kcal/mol), whereas the bond dissociation energy to form an allyl radical from propylene requites 368 kj/mol (88 kcal/mol). This difference results entirely from resonance stabilization. The electron spin resonance spectmm of the allyl radical shows three, not four, types of hydrogen signals. The infrared spectmm shows one type, not two, of carbon—carbon bonds. These data imply the existence, at least on the time scale probed, of a symmetric molecule. The two equivalent resonance stmctures for the allyl radical are as follows ... 

These acids (51) are organic molecules that contain a plurality of cyano groups and are readily ionized to hydrogen ions and resonance-stabilized anions. Typical cyanocarbon acids are cyanoform, methanetricarbonitrile (5) 1,1,3,3-tetracyanopropene [32019-26-4] l-propene-l,l,3,3-tetracarbonitrile (52) 1,1,2,3,3-pentacyanopropene [45078-17-9], l-propene-l,l,2,3,3-pentacarbonitrile (51) l,l,2,6,7,7-hexacyano-l,3,5-heptatriene [69239-39-0] (53) 2-dicyanomethylene-l,l,3,3-tetracyanopropane [32019-27-5] (51) and l,3-cyclopentadiene-l,2,3,4,5-pentacarbonitrile [69239-40-3] (54,55). Many of these acids rival mineral acids in strength (56) and are usually isolable only as salts with metal or ammonium ions. The remarkable strength of these acids results from resonance stabilization in the anions that is not possible in the protonated forms. 

Inductive and resonance stabilization of carbanions derived by proton abstraction from alkyl substituents a to the ring nitrogen in pyrazines and quinoxalines confers a degree of stability on these species comparable with that observed with enolate anions. The resultant carbanions undergo typical condensation reactions with a variety of electrophilic reagents such as aldehydes, ketones, nitriles, diazonium salts, etc., which makes them of considerable preparative importance. 

Clearly, in the case of (66) two amide tautomers (72) and (73) are possible, but if both hydroxyl protons tautomerize to the nitrogen atoms one amide bond then becomes formally cross-conjugated and its normal resonance stabilization is not developed (c/. 74). Indeed, part of the driving force for the reactions may come from this feature, since once the cycloaddition (of 72 or 73) has occurred the double bond shift results in an intermediate imidic acid which should rapidly tautomerize. In addition, literature precedent suggests that betaines such as (74) may also be present and clearly this opens avenues for alternative mechanistic pathways. 

Proton loss from alkyl groups a or 7 to a cationic center in an azolium ring is often easy. The resulting neutral anhydro bases or methides (cf. 381) can sometimes be isolated they react readily with electrophilic reagents to give products which can often lose another proton to give new resonance-stabilized anhydro bases. Thus the trithione methides are anhydro bases derived from 3-alkyl-l,2-dithiolylium salts (382 383) (66AHC(7)39). These... 

Phenanthrene and anthracene both react preferentially in the center ring. This behavior is expected from simple resonance considerations. The c-complexes that result from substitution in the center ring have two intact benzene rings. The total resonance stabilization of these intermediates is larger than that of the naphthalene system that results if substitution occurs at one of the terminal rings. ... 

The accelerative effect of the protonated form (68) arises from increased resonance stabilization of the charge and is much greater than that which would result from its ammonio analog (69), activating by induction. 

The acidity of acetone and other compounds with C=0 bonds is due to the fact that the conjugate base resulting from loss of H+ is stabilized by resonance. In addition, one of the resonance forms stabilizes the negative charge by placing it on an electronegative oxygen atom. 

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