Radical tertiary

Similarly by comparing the bond dissociation energies of the two different types of C—H bonds m 2 methylpropane we see that a tertiary radical is 30 kJ/mol (7 kcal/ mol) more stable than a primary radical... 

The propensity of nitriles to release cyanide subsequent to metaboHsm is the basis of their acute toxicity. Nitriles that form tertiary radicals at their alpha carbon atoms (eg, isobutyronitrile, 2-methylbutyronitrile) are substantially more acutely lethal than nitriles that form secondary radicals at their alpha carbons (eg, butyronitrile, propionitnle). Cyanohydrins are acutely toxic because they are unstable and release cyanide quickly. Alpha-aminonitriles are also acutely toxic, presumably by analogy with cyanohydrins. 

What are the reasons for the observed reactivity order of alkane hydrogens toward radical chlorination A look at the bond dissociation energies given previously in Table 5.3 on page 156 hints at the answer. The data in Table 5.3 indicate that a tertiary C—H bond (390 kj/mol 93 kcal/mol) is weaker than a secondary C-H bond (401 kj/mol 96 kcal/mol), which is in turn weaker than a primary C H bond (420 kj/mol 100 kcal/mol). Since less energy is needed to break a tertiary C-H bond than to break a primary or secondary C-H bond, the resultant tertiary radical is more stable than a primary or secondary radical. 

The key features of Curran s productive and elegant tandem radical cyclization strategy are illustrated in a retrosynthetic analysis for hirsutene (1) (see Scheme 27). The final synthetic event was projected to be an intermolecular transfer of a hydrogen atom from tri-rc-butyltin hydride to the transitory tricyclic vinyl radical 131. The latter can then be traced to bicyclic tertiary radical 132 and thence to monocyclic primary radical 133 through successive hex-5-enyl-like radical cyclizations. It was anticipated that the initial radical 133 could be generated through the abstraction of the iodine atom from... 

Taxus baccata 656 Taxus brevifolia 655 Tebbe reagent 703 telomerization 354 ff. a-terpineol 5 tertiary radicals 409, 413 tether, disposable 664 tetrahedrane 12... 

The combination of carbon-centered radicals usually involves head-to-head (a,a ) coupling. Exceptions to this general rule occur where the free spin can be delocalized into a n-system. The classic example involves the triphenylmethyl radical (13) which combines to give exclusively the a-para coupling product (26), Scheme I.8).27 This chemistry is also seen in cross reactions of 13 with other tertiary radicals.146... 

The primary alkyl radical, H, is anticipated to be more reactive and may show different specificity to the secondary or tertiary radical, Tv In VAc and VC polymerizations the radical H appears more prone to undertake intermolecular (Sections 4.3.1.1 and 4.3.1.2) or intramolecular (4.4.3.2) atom transfer reactions. 

The proposed polymerization mechanism is shown in Scheme 9.12. Thermal decomposition of the hexasubstituted ethane derivative yields hindered tertiary radicals that can initiate polymerization or combine with propagating species (primary radical termination) to form an oligomeric macroinitiator. The addition of the diphenylalkyl radicals to monomer is slow (e.g. k[ for 34 is reported as KT M"1 s l at 80 °C84) and the polymerization is characterized by an inhibition period during which the initiator is consumed and an oligomeric macroinitiator is formed. The bond to the Cl I formed by addition to monomer is comparatively thermally stable. 

This is clo.sely related to the Tertiary radical synthesis" scheme for the preparation of organocobalt porphyrins, in which alkenes insert into the Co—H bond of Co(Por)H instead of creating a new radical as in Eq. (13). If the alkene would form a tertiary cobalt alkyl then polymerization rather than cobalt-alkyl formation is observed. " " " The kinetics for this process have been investigated in detail, in part by competition studies involving two different alkenes. This mimics the chain transfer catalysis process, where two alkenes (monomer and oligomers or... 

In the step above, Br attacked the alkene at the less substituted carbon, in order to form the more substituted carbon radical (C ). Tertiary radicals are more stable than secondary radicals, for the same reason that tertiary carbocations are more stable than secondary carbocations. Just as alkyl groups donate electron density to... 

Stabilize a neighboring, empty p-orbital, so too, alkyl groups can stabilize a neighboring, partially filled orbital. This preference for forming a tertiary radical (rather than a secondary radical) dictates that Br" will attack the less substituted carbon. This explains the observed anti-Markovnikov regiochemistry. 

In both mechanisms, the regiochemistry is determined by a preference for forming the most stable intermediate possible. For example, in the ionic mechanism, adds to produce a tertiary carbocation, rather than a secondary carbocation. Similarly, in the radical mechanism, Br adds to produce a tertiary radical, rather than a secondary radical, hi this respect, the two reactions are very similar. But take special notice of the fundamental difference. In the ionic mechanism, the proton comes on first. However, in the radical mechanism, the bromine comes on first. This critical difference explains why an ionic mechanism gives a Markovnikov addition while a radical mechanism gives an anti-Markovnikov addition. 

The results of gas phase chlorination of hydrocarbons suggest that, due to differences in activation energy, tertiary radicals are more readily formed than secondary radicals which in turn are more readily formed than primary radicals. 

The only radical intermediate observed for poly methacrylic acid was the propagating radical formed by main chain scission. This observation is similar to that noted for gamma radiolysis of poly methylmethacrylate, where the propagating radical is also found as the only stable radical intermediate following radiolysis at 303 K. In both cases the propagating radical is formed by -scission following the loss of the side chain, resulting in formation of the unstable tertiary radical. 

To confirm the trends observed with 10, we also investigated the behavior of epoxide 17 under ET conditions. Here, a tertiary radical would be formed after reductive opening that is more persistent than the secondary radical obtained from 10, as depicted in Scheme 8. The results of the opening reactions are summarized in Table 3. 

It is also essential that competing radical pathways are excluded. The radical intermediates should therefore be relatively persistent. This is the case here, because tertiary radicals are relatively slowly trapped by hydrogen atom donors, e.g., THF, which is usually applied as solvent in titanocene-mediated or -catalyzed reactions, or a second equivalent of Cp2TiCl. Flowever, in the absence of other pathways this reduction, which was followed by a -hydride elimination, was observed [75,76]. Our results with 10 are summarized in Table 5. 

Scheme 28 explains the stereochemical outcome from the tandem radical cyclization in the presence of the [Yb(Ph-pybox)(OTf)3] (pybox = 2,6-bis(2-oxazolin-2-yl)pyridine). The ytterbium complex 107 is shown in an octahedral geometry (with one triflate still bound to the metal) where re-face cyclization is favored due to the steric interactions of the substrate and the ligand s phenyl groups. The 6-endo cyclization takes place via a chair-like transition state to yield a tertiary radical 108 followed by a ring flip and... 

The efficiency of product formation in solution is also controlled by the stabilities of the radicals. Stable radicals such as tertiary alkyl radicals or benzyl radicals lead to efficient decarbonylation in solution. Because of steric factors involving bulky groups, tertiary radicals tend to preferentially undergo disproportionation rather than radical combination and so the quantum yield of the products formed by disproportionation exceeds that of the radical combination product. 

The tertiary a-ester (26) and a-cyano (27) radicals react about an order of magnitude less rapidly with Bu3SnH than do tertiary alkyl radicals. On the basis of the results with secondary radicals 28-31, the kinetic effect is unlikely to be due to electronics. The radical clocks 26 and 27 also cyclize considerably less rapidly than a secondary radical counterpart (26 with R = H) or their tertiary alkyl radical analogue (i.e., 26 with R = X = CH3), and the slow cyclization rates for 26 and 27 were ascribed to an enforced planarity in ester- and cyano-substituted radicals that, in the case of tertiary species, results in a steric interaction in the transition states for cyclization.89 It is possible that a steric effect due to an enforced planar tertiary radical center also is involved in the kinetic effect on the tin hydride reaction rate constants. 

Birch reduction-alkylation of 5 with 2-bromoethyl acetate was carried out with complete facial selectivity to give 57. This tetrafunctional intermediate was converted to the bicyclic iodolactone 58 ( > 99% ee) from which the radical cyclization substrate 59 was prepared. The key radical cyclization occurred with complete regio- and facial-selectivity and subsequent stereoselective reduction of the resulting tertiary radical gave 60 with the required trans BC ring fusion.The allylic alcohol rmit of (+)-lycorine was obtained by a photochemical radical decarboxylation, 62 63. 

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