Transition state reactant-like

Hammond postulate (Section 6.10) A postulate stating that we can get a picture of what a given transition state looks like by looking at the structure of the nearest stable species. Exergonic reactions have transition states that resemble reactant endergonic reactions have transition states that resemble product. 

Experiments cannot tell us what transition states look like. The fact is that transition states cannot even be detected experimentally let alone characterized, at least not directly. While measured activation energies relate to the energies of transition states above reactants, and while activation entropies and activation volumes, as well as kinetic isotope effects, may be invoked to imply some aspects of transition-state structure, no experiment can actually provide direct information about the detailed geometries and/or other physical properties of transition states. Quite simply, transition states do not exist in terms of a stable population of molecules on which experimental measurements may be made. Experimental activation parameters provide some guide, but tell us little detail about what actually transpires in going from reactants to products. 

Probably both reactant stabilization and the already evaluated relative instability of the cationic transition state contribute to the slowness of the solvolysis of vinyl components, but other factors are certainly involved. The most obvious experimental problem is whether the compounds compared react by a unimolecular mechanism or nucleophilic attack by the solvent is involved to a certain extent. In the case of vinylic systems, for instance, nucleophilic solvation from the rear is in general much more hindered than in the case of saturated compounds and the transition state is likely to be stabilized only by electrophilic solvation of the leaving group (Rappoport and Atidia, 1970). The low m values observed in the case of vinyl halides or sulphon-ates may be taken as a strong indication of poor solvation of the transition state in solvolytic reactions of vinyl derivatives. These and other complications, such as differences in hyperconjugation, differences in electronegativity of the -—C= and —- bonds (Jones and Maness,... 

The second alternative to the Grignard addition is enolization, which requires a hydrogen a to the carbonyl group. The mechanism has a six-centre cyclic transition state and like the reduction process has fewer steric requirements than does addition. [82,83], Scheme 1.9 (c). Branching at the carbons or to carbonyl slows the addition reaction and therefore increases the extent of enoliza-tion and reduction. Preparative additions to such ketones requires the use of alkyllithium reagents. The cnols may be useful for synthetic purposes since they may add to the carbonyl group in added reactants or in the substrate itself. 

Reaction mechanism (Section 7.2) Loosely speaking. How does the reaction occur How do the reactants come together Are there any intermediates What do the transition states look like More precisely, a determination in terms of structure and energy of the stable molecules, reaction intermediates, and transition states involved in the reaction, along with a consideration of how the energy changes as the reaction progresses. 

Transition state search algorithms rather climb up the potential energy surface, unlike geometry optimization routines where an energy minimum is searched for. The characterization of even a simple reaction potential surface may result in location of more than one transition structure, and is likely to require many more individual calculations than are necessary to obtain equilibrium geometries for either reactant or product. 

In looking for the mechanism, many intermediates are assumed. Some of these are stable molecules in pure form but very active in reacting systems. Other intermediates are in very low concentration and can be identified only by special analytical methods, like mass spectrometry (the atomic species of hydrogen and halogens, for example). These are at times referred to as active centers. Others are in transition states that the reacting cheimicals form with atoms or radicals these rarely can be isolated. In heterogeneous catalytic reaction, the absorbed reactant can... 

A more complete analysis of interacting molecules would examine all of the involved MOs in a similar wty. A correlation diagram would be constructed to determine which reactant orbital is transformed into wfiich product orbital. Reactions which permit smooth transformation of the reactant orbitals to product orbitals without intervention of high-energy transition states or intermediates can be identified in this way. If no such transformation is possible, a much higher activation energy is likely since the absence of a smooth transformation implies that bonds must be broken before they can be reformed. This treatment is more complete than the frontier orbital treatment because it focuses attention not only on the reactants but also on the products. We will describe this method of analysis in more detail in Chapter 11. The qualitative approach that has been described here is a useful and simple wty to apply MO theory to reactivity problems, and we will employ it in subsequent chapters to problems in reactivity that are best described in MO terms. I... 

The significance of the concept incorporated in Hammond s postulate is that, in appropriate cases, it permits discussion of transition-state structure in terms of the reactants, inteimediates, or products in a multistep reaction sequence. The postulate indicates that the cases in which such comparison is appropriate are those in which the transition state is close in energy to the reactant, intermediate, or product. Chemists sometimes speak of early or late transition states. An early transition state is reactant-like whereas a late transition state is product-like. 

Important differences are seen when the reactions of the other halogens are compared to bromination. In the case of chlorination, although the same chain mechanism is operative as for bromination, there is a key difference in the greatly diminished selectivity of the chlorination. For example, the pri sec selectivity in 2,3-dimethylbutane for chlorination is 1 3.6 in typical solvents. Because of the greater reactivity of the chlorine atom, abstractions of primary, secondary, and tertiary hydrogens are all exothermic. As a result of this exothermicity, the stability of the product radical has less influence on the activation energy. In terms of Hammond s postulate (Section 4.4.2), the transition state would be expected to be more reactant-like. As an example of the low selectivity, ethylbenzene is chlorinated at both the methyl and the methylene positions, despite the much greater stability of the benzyl radical ... 

Reactant and product structures. Because the transition state stmcture is normally different from but intermediate to those of the initial and final states, it is evident that the stmctures of the reactants and products should be known. One should, however, be aware of a possible source of misinterpretation. Suppose the products generated in the reaction of kinetic interest undergo conversion, on a time scale fast relative to the experimental manipulations, to thermodynamically more stable substances then the observed products will not be the actual products of the reaction. In this case the products are said to be under thermodynamic control rather than kinetic control. A possible example has been given in the earlier description of the reaction of hydroxide ion with ester, when it seems likely that the products are the carboxylic acid and the alkoxide ion, which, however, are transformed in accordance with the relative acidities of carboxylic acids and alcohols into the isolated products of carboxylate salt and alcohol. 

Let us now turn to the surfaces themselves to learn the kinds of kinetic information they contain. First observe that the potential energy surface of Fig. 5-2 is drawn to be symmetrical about the 45° diagonal. This is the type of surface to be expected for a symmetrical reaction like H -I- H2 = H2 -h H, in which the reactants and products are identical. The corresponding reaction coordinate diagram in Fig. 5-3, therefore, shows the reactants and products having the same stability (energy) and the transition state appearing at precisely the midpoint of the reaction coordinate. 

Compare the bonding surface in the transition state to those of the reactant and the products. The CO single bond of the reactant is clearly broken in the transition state. Also, the migrating hydrogen seems more tightly bound to oxygen (as in the product) than to carbon (as in the reactant). It can be concluded that the transition state more closely resembles the products than the reactants, and this provides an example of what chemists call a late or product-like transition state. 

Next, examine the Sn2 transition states as space-filling models. Are you able to identify unfavorable nonbondec (steric) interactions that are not present in the reactants If so, which Sn2 reaction is likely to be most affected b] steric interactions Least affected Rationalize you observations. Hint Compare CBr bond distances in thf Sn2 transition states. How do these change with increasec substitution at carbon What effect, if any, does this havf on crowding ... 

Obtain the energies of propene, dimethylborane, and 1-propyldimethyl borane, and calculate AH n for dimethylborane addition. Is this reaction exothermic or endothermic Use this result and the Hammond Postulate to predict whether the transition state will be more reactant like or more product like . Compare the geometry of the transition state to that of the reactants and products. Does the Hammond Postulate correctly anticipate the structure of the transition state Explain. 

Would you describe the transition state for the Claisen rearrangement as early (like reactants), late (like products) or in between Given the overall thermodynamics of reaction, do you conclude that the Hammond Postulate applies Explain. 

Problem 6.18 What about the second step in the electrophilic addition of HCl to an alkene—the reaction of chloride ion with the carbocation intermediate Is this step exergonic or endergontc Does the transition state for this second step resemble the reactant (carbocation) or product (alkyl chloride) Make a rough drawing of what the transition-state structure might look like. 

In contrast to the open-chain and dipolar models, which are based on conformations of the carbonyl compound not representing energy minima, Karabatsos proposed a different model assuming an early, reactant-like transition state in which the most stable conformation of the free carbonyl compound is preserved1314. Thus, the C-M bond eclipses the carbonyl double bond and, in order to minimize the energy of the transition state, the nucleophile approaches close to the small substituent on the stereogenic center (Figure 5). 

The transition state for the nucleophilic addition reaction to a carbonyl compound is essentially reactant-hke , rather than product-like . 

Radical additions are typically highly exothermic and activation energies are small for carbon30-31 and oxygen centered32,33 radicals of the types most often encountered in radical polymerization, Thus, according to the Hammond postulate, these reactions are expected to have early reactant-like transition states in which there is little localization of the free spin on C(J. However, for steric factors to be important at all, there must be significant bond deformation and movement towards. sp hybridization at Cn. 

Fig. 7-2. Potential energy E as a function of the reaction coordinate for reactions of the P-nitrogen of arenediazonium ions with nucleophiles yielding (Z)- and (is)-azo compounds, a) Reactant-like transition states (e. g., reaction with OH) b) product-like transition states (e. g., diazo coupling reaction with phenoxide ions product = cyclohexadienone-type o-complex (see Sec. 12.8).

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