Transition state geometry reaction selectivity

An expedient and stereoselective synthesis of bicyclic ketone 30 exemplifies the utility and elegance of Corey s new catalytic system (see Scheme 8). Reaction of the (R)-tryptophan-derived oxazaboro-lidine 42 (5 mol %), 5-(benzyloxymethyl)-l,3-cyclopentadiene 26, and 2-bromoacrolein (43) at -78 °C in methylene chloride gives, after eight hours, diastereomeric adducts 44 in a yield of 83 % (95 5 exo.endo diastereoselectivity 96 4 enantioselectivity for the exo isomer). After reaction, the /V-tosyltryptophan can be recovered for reuse. The basic premise is that oxazaborolidine 42 induces the Diels-Alder reaction between intermediates 26 and 43 to proceed through a transition state geometry that maximizes attractive donor-acceptor interactions. Coordination of the dienophile at the face of boron that is cis to the 3-indolylmethyl substituent is thus favored.19d f Treatment of the 95 5 mixture of exo/endo diastereo-mers with 5 mol % aqueous AgNC>3 selectively converts the minor, but more reactive, endo aldehyde diastereomer into water-soluble... 

FIGURE 12.8 Fully optimized geometry of selected transition states for 2-pentanone + OH reaction, corresponding to secondary beta (A) and secondary alpha (B) abstractions. 

Whereas selective diffusion can be better investigated using classical dynamic or Monte Carlo simulations, or experimental techniques, quantum chemical calculations are required to analyze molecular reactivity. Quantum chemical dynamic simulations provide with information with a too limited time scale range (of the order of several himdreds of ps) to be of use in diffusion studies which require time scale of the order of ns to s. However, they constitute good tools to study the behavior of reactants and products adsorbed in the proximity of the active site, prior to the reaction. Concerning reaction pathways analysis, static quantum chemistry calculations with molecular cluster models, allowing estimates of transition states geometries and properties, have been used for years. The application to solids is more recent. 

Carbopalladation has also been employed in the construction of six-membered rings. Most examples are 6-exo cyclizations as is the pyran ring synthesis (107—>108) used in the construction of ( )-6a-epipretazettine 109 and ( )-tazettine (Scheme 17). The Heck cyclization formed a quaternary center with a diastereoselectivity in excess of 20 1. The selectivity of the reaction is of particular interest in this case as it provides information about the orientation of the carbon-palladium a bond and the reacting aUcene in the carbopalladation transition state. Two limiting transition state geometries for the closure are intermediate 110, which leads to the observed product, and intermediate 111, which would lead to a diastereomer. In the preferred transition state 110, the carbon-palladium (7 bond and alkene are eclipsed, which is a lower energy state than the corresponding twisted orientation 111. 

Hydroxy-amides. - Wittig rearrangement of acetamide (424) [LDA, -85 C] provides almost exclusively the erythro-a-hydroxy-amide (425). The likely transition-state geometry suggests that the presence of vinylic substituents larger than methyl should at least maintain this level of selectivity during rearrangement. Unfortunately similar reactions of chiral amides derived from prolinol result in only moderate asymmetric induction. 

It is not the catalytic activity itself that make zeolites particularly interesting, but the location of the active site within the well-defined geometry of a zeolite. Owing to the geometrical constraints of the zeolite, the selectivity of a chemical reaction can be increased by three mechanisms reactant selectivity, product selectivity, and transition state selectivity. In the case of reactant selectivity, bulky components in the feed do not enter the zeolite and will have no chance to react. When several products are formed within the zeolite, and only some are able to leave the zeolite, or some leave the zeolite more rapidly, we speak about product selectivity. When the geometrical constraints of the active site within the zeolite prohibit the formation of products or transition states leading to certain products, transition state selectivity applies. 

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