Singlet oxygen reaction intermediates trapping

Cycloaddition reactions can occur with retention of configuration in the pseudoexcitation band (Sect 1.1) whereas [2jt H-2jtJ reactions are symmetry-forbidden in the delocalization band. Experimental evidence is available for the stereospecific [2-1-2] cycloaddition reactions between A and olefins with retention of configuration (Scheme 14) [82]. A perepoxide intermediate was reported to be trapped in the epoxide form [83] in the reaction of adamantylideneadamantane with singlet oxygen affording dioxetane derivatives [84]. 

Photochemical irradiation of dimethyl and diethyl sulphoxides yields the corresponding sulphone in the presence of air and a photosensitizer such as methylene blue in yields up to 99% . Sulphoxides are also oxidized when they act as traps for persulphoxides, the intermediate formed on reaction of a sulphide with photochemically generated singlet oxygen - , equation (9). Isotope studies have shown that such reactions proceed through a linear sulphurane intermediate . Persulphones also react with sulphoxides in a similar manner , equation (10). 

The addition of singlet oxygen to alkenes also gives dioxetanes. A number of mechanisms have been proposed and the literature abounds with theoretical and experimental results supporting one or more possible intermediates (a) 1,4-diradicals, (b) 1,4-dipolar, (c) perepoxides, or (d) concerted (Scheme 95). Both ab initio and semi-empirical calculations have been done and to date the controversy is still not resolved. These mechanisms have been reviewed extensively (77AHC(21)437, 80JA439, 81MI51500 and references therein) and will not be discussed here, except to point out that any one mechanism does not satisfactorily account for the stereospecificity, solvent effects, isotope effects and trapped intermediates observed. The reaction is undoubtedly substrate-dependent and what holds for one system does not always hold for another. 

In 1989, the irradiation of (E,E)-2,4-hexadiene S3 sensitized by meso-porphyrin IX dimethyl ester led to the formation of cis-3,6-dimethyl-l,2-dioxene (62), which was the major product detected at — 78 °C in Freon 11 [69]. Endoperoxide 62 was purified under vacuum at 0.75 mmHg, and collected in a trap (98% isolated yield). Dienes that can adopt a cisoid conformation, such as 53 or ( , )-l,4-di phenyl butadiene, were photooxidized by the corresponding endoperoxides in high or quantitative yield in a suprafacial Diels-Alder reaction [60, 70], Dienes that cannot readily adopt cisoid conformations, such as (fc, Z)-2,4-hexadienes and (Z, Z)-2,4-hexadienes, lose their stereochemistry in the singlet oxygen [2 + 4]-cyclo-addition [60], (E,Z)- and (Z,Z)-dienes give a complex mixture of hydroperoxides and aldehydes, which suggests the intervention of intermediate zwitterions or 1,4-diradicals [71]. 

The mechanism involves attack by singlet oxygen on the carbon-carbon double bond, followed by a two-step cleavage of the 1,2-dioxetane intermediate. Formation of polar intermediates such as a 1,4-zwitterion (ZWI) has been proposed in order to account for the fact that radical inhibitors have no effect on the reaction rate, whereas the intermediates can be trapped by alcohols4,7-11. 

In contrast, the adduct (41) obtained from singlet oxygen and l,4-diphenyl-3/7-2-benzopyran-3-one (40) is a stable, crystalline solid (Scheme 2) <78JA2564>. Nonetheless, (41) decomposes in boiling benzene giving o-dibenzoylbenzene (43) and phenyl o-benzoylbenzoate (45) in 85% and 5% yield respectively. No luminescence is detected. The major reaction course is decarboxylation to the intermediate o-xylylene peroxide (42), which can be trapped as its Diels-Alder adduct with maleic anhydride. The ester (45) could have arisen directly from (41) by decarbonylation and concomitant... 

Nahm K, Foote CS (1989) Trimethyl phosphite traps intermediates in the reaction of singlet oxygen (102) and diethyl sulfide. J Am Chem Soc 111(5) 1909-1910... 

This reaction should be considered as the formal scheme that is used for the thermodynamic evaluations of heat (AU), where negative value allows the formation of the MeOxMe species. The mechanism possibly involves the intermediate triplet state that converts to the singlet one. The experimental facts prove that AE zeolite easily trap and accumulate oxygen [31, 57], which can oxidize organics under thermal stimulation without additional source of oxygen. The authors concluded [57] that the oxidation of propane takes place only after a preliminary treatment in air/oxygen atmosphere. The oxidation on the Ca forms with the accent on the X = 2 and 3 will be described in more details. 

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