Resonance structures allylic cation

Although both Sn2 and SnI mechanisms might be formnlated for such reactions, all the available evidence favours an Sn 1 process. This is rationalized in terms of formation of a favourable resonance-stabilized allylic cation by loss of the leaving gronp. In the majority of natnral prodnct structures, the nucleophile has attacked the allylic system on the same carbon that loses the diphosphate, bnt there are certainly examples of nncleophilic attack on the alternative tertiary carbon. 

As shown in Figure 27, an in-phase combination of type-V structures leads to another A] symmetry structures (type-VI), which is expected to be stabilized by allyl cation-type resonance. However, calculation shows that the two shuctures are isoenergetic. The electronic wave function preserves its phase when tr ansported through a complete loop around the degeneracy shown in Figure 25, so that no conical intersection (or an even number of conical intersections) should be enclosed in it. This is obviously in contrast with the Jahn-Teller theorem, that predicts splitting into A and states. 

Some fundamental structure-stability relationships can be employed to illustrate the use of resonance concepts. The allyl cation is known to be a particularly stable carbocation. This stability can be understood by recognizing that the positive charge is delocalized between two carbon atoms, as represented by the two equivalent resonance structures. The delocalization imposes a structural requirement. The p orbitals on the three contiguous carbon atoms must all be aligned in the same direction to permit electron delocalization. As a result, there is an energy barrier to rotation about the carbon-carbon... 

Molecular orbitals are useful tools for identifying reactive sites in a molecule. For example, the positive charge in allyl cation is delocalized over the two terminal carbon atoms, and both atoms can act as electron acceptors. This is normally shown using two resonance structures, but a more compact way to see this is to look at the shape of the ion s LUMO (the LUMO is a molecule s electron-acceptor orbital). Allyl cation s LUMO appear s as four surfaces. Two surfaces are positioned near- each of the terminal car bon atoms, and they identify allyl cation s electron-acceptor sites. 

The predicted bond order for a given bond is listed at the intersection of the two atoms of interest in the bond orders table. The illustration at the left shows the predicted bond orders for this molecule (where 1.0 is a traditional single bond, 2.0 is a double bond, and so on). The C-H bonds all have predicted bond orders of about. 9, while the C-C bonds have predicted bond orders of about 1.4. The latter arc consistent with the known resonance structure for allyl cation. ... 

In the present instance, protonation of the C1-C2 double bond gives a carbo-cation that can react further to give the 1,2 adduct 3-chloro-3-methylcyclohexene and the 1,4 adduct 3-chloro-L-methylcyclohexene. Protonation of the C3-C4 double bond gives a symmetrical carbocation, whose two resonance forms are equivalent. Thus, the 1,2 adduct and the 1,4 adduct have the same structure 6-chloro-l-methyl-cyclohexene. Of the two possible modes of protonation, the first is more likely because it yields a tertiary allylic cation rather than a secondary allylic cation. 

Show how resonance can occur in the following organic ions (a) acetate ion, CH,CO, (b) enolate ion, CH,COCH5, which has one resonance structure with a C=C double bond and an —O group on the central carbon atom (c) allyl cation, CH,CHCH,+ (d) amidate ion, CH,CONH (the O and the N atoms are both bonded to the second C atom). 

Resonance theory depicts the allyl cation as a hybrid of structures D and E ... 

D and E are equivalent resonance structures => the allyl cation should be unusually stable. 

These are resonance structures for the allylic cation formed when 1,3-butadiene accepts a prooton. 

This is not a proper resonance structure for the allylic cation because a hydrogen atom has been moved. 

Structures 4 and 5 resembles 1° carbocations and yet the allyl cation is more stable than a 2° carbocation => resonance stabilization. 

Estimating stability it is possible to apply criteria commonly used in organic chemistry. Tertiary alkyl carbocation is more stable than the secondary one which is in its turn more stable than the primary one. For the carbon ions of this type the row of the stability is reversed. Allyl and benzyl cations are stable due to the resonance stabilization. The latter having four resonance structures may rearrange to be energetically favorable in the gas phase tropilium cation possessing seven resonance forms (Scheme 5.3). 

You may think that is the end of the problem but, since we have an unsymmetrical diene, it is also necessary to consider protonation of the other double bond. Protonation on C-4 also gives a favourable resonance-stabilized allylic carbocation, this time with primary and secondary limiting structures. Protonation on C-3 gives an unfavourable primary carbocation with no resonance stabilization. Since the products formed are related to initial protonation at C-1, it is apparent that, despite the stability associated with an allylic cation, a tertiary limiting structure is formed in preference to that with a secondary limiting structure. 

Draw conventional structures for the contributors to the resonance hybrid of an allyl cation. 

The BLW method can be considered as an extension of the orbital deletion procedure (ODP) (51,52), a simpler method that can only be applied to carbocations (52) and boranes (51). The ODP consists of representing a resonance structure displaying an electronic vacancy (Lewis acid character) by deleting the primitive basis functions corresponding to the empty site before launching the SCF calculation. As a typical example, the ODP has been applied to calculate the resonance energy of the allyl cation (52). 

Finally, it is important to recognize that an SN1 reaction that forms an allylic carbo-cation often provides more than one site at which the nucleophile can bond. The nucleophile may bond to either of the carbons that bear the positive charges in the resonance structures. If the allylic cation is not symmetrical, this will result in the formation of two products one normal and one rearranged. An example of such an allylic rearrangement is... 

Draw another resonance form for each of the substituted allylic cations shown in the preceding figure, showing how the positive charge is shared by another carbon atom. In each case, state whether your second resonance form is a more important or less important resonance contributor than the first structure. (Which structure places the positive charge on the more-substituted carbon atom )... 

We can represent a delocalized ion such as the allyl cation either by resonance forms, as shown on the left in the following figure, or by a combined structure, as shown on the right. Although the combined structure is more concise, it is sometimes confusing because it attempts to convey all the information implied by two or more resonance forms. 

Remember that no resonance form has an independent existence A compound has characteristics of all its resonance forms at the same time, but it does not resonate among them. The p orbitals of all three carbon atoms must be parallel to have simultaneous pi bonding overlap between Cl and C2 and between C2 and C3. The geometric structure of the allyl system is shown in Figure 15-10. The allyl cation, the allyl radical, and the allyl anion all have this same geometric structure, differing only in the number of pi electrons. 

Let us look more closely at such cations, using the parent allyl cation, CH2 CH—CH2, as our example. Bond dissociation energies showed us that allyl radicals are unusually stable, and we attributed this stability to resonance between equivalent structures (Secs. 6.24-6.25). The ionization potential (188 kcal) of the allyl radical enables us to calculate that the allyl cation, too, is unusually stable. Even though we have just drawn its structure as that of a primary cation, it is 24 kcal more stable than the ethyl cation, and just about as stable as the isopropyl cation. We can now expand the sequence of Sec. 5,18. 

Like the allyl radical, the allyl cation is a resonance hybrid of two exactly equivalent structures ... 

---