Transition state in substitution reactions

Pentacoordinate hydroxyphosphoranes are likely intermediates or transition states in substitution reactions at tetracoordinate phosphorus (1). Recently, stable hydroxyphosphoranes (2, 3) and their conjugate bases - metal phosphoranoxides (J, 5) have been isolated. Spectroscopic evidence (J - 7) for equilibria between P(IV) compounds and hydroxyphosphoranes have been reported. Observation (8) and isolation (9) of P(IV) TBP phosphoranide species have also been announced. All these phosphoranes are stabilized by several features dominated by their spirobicyclic nature. 

Stereochemistry chi 4 Intermediates and transition states in substitution reactions How substitution reactions affect stereochemistry What sort of nucleophiles can substitute, and what sort of leaving groups can be substituted The sorts of molecules that can be made by substitution, and what they can be made from fragmentation reactions ch36... 

All calculations and X-ray crystallographig studies agree that the bridging bond is long (measured as 1.482 A [S3]) and plays little part in any conjugation in the molecule. As discussed below it plays a vital role, however, in the stabilisation of transition states in substitution reactions of azulene. 

Widdowson, Rzepa and coworkers reported ab initio and MNDO-d SCF-MO computational studies of the extrusion reactions of diaryliodonium fluorides [202-204]. The results of these studies, in particular, predicted that the intermediates and transition states in these reactions might involve dimeric, trimeric and tetrameric structures. The regioselectivity of nucleophilic substitution in these reactions was investigated theoretically and supported by some experimental observations. 

Thermal organic reactions are often classified in terms of the molecular and electronic structure of their transition state or reactive intermediate (which is often taken as a model of the transition state). Thus, for instance, one has the Sn2 transition state for concerted bimolecular nucleophilic substitution reactions one has the E2 and Ei transition states in elimination reactions, etc. Given the transient nature of the transition states, the use of quantum chemical methodologies is essential for the determination of their detailed geometrical and electronic structure. Furthermore, the computation of the associated transition vectors provides information on the reactive mode... 

Butler, R.N., Coyne, A.G., Cunningham, W.J., Moloney, E.M. and Burke, L.A., Water and the Hiiisgen cycloaddition reaction a focus on polar contributions to the transition state in the reactions of di cyano(phthalazinium)methanide with substituted styrenes andbenzylidene acetones, Hehr. Chim. Acta, 2005, 88(7), 1611-1629. 

Kinetic, steric, and thermodynamic results have been reviewed to argue that the rate-determining step in some aliphatic nucleophilic substitutions is the transfer of an electron. The same group carried out a systematic ranking of different nucleophiles with respect to their ability to stabilize the transition states of substitution reactions, acetonitrile and dimethyl sulfoxide being the solvents involved. The nucleophiles included enolates, phenolates, thiophenolates, hydroxide, and cyanide. The method is based on a comparison of the rate coefficient, ksm, for the substitution reaction between a given nucleophile and benzyl chloride with the rate coefficient, A et for the corresponding electron transfer from an aromatic radical anion to benzyl chloride. The ratio ksuB/ ET expresses the rate enhancement due to electronic interaction in the transition state of the substitution reaction. 

Substitution reactions by the ionization mechanism proceed very slowly on a-halo derivatives of ketones, aldehydes, acids, esters, nitriles, and related compounds. As discussed on p. 284, such substituents destabilize a carbocation intermediate. Substitution by the direct displacement mechanism, however, proceed especially readily in these systems. Table S.IS indicates some representative relative rate accelerations. Steric effects be responsible for part of the observed acceleration, since an sfp- caibon, such as in a carbonyl group, will provide less steric resistance to tiie incoming nucleophile than an alkyl group. The major effect is believed to be electronic. The adjacent n-LUMO of the carbonyl group can interact with the electnai density that is built up at the pentacoordinate carbon. This can be described in resonance terminology as a contribution flom an enolate-like stmeture to tiie transition state. In MO terminology,.the low-lying LUMO has a... 

Substitution, addition, and group transfer reactions can occur intramolecularly. Intramolecular substitution reactions that involve hydrogen abstraction have some important synthetic applications, since they permit functionalization of carbon atoms relatively remote from the initial reaction site. ° The preference for a six-membered cyclic transition state in the hydrogen abstraction step imparts position selectivity to the process ... 

In this reaction I" is the nucleophile, and Br" is called the leaving group (or nucleofuge). Beyond this, the classification symbolism may include a designation of the molecularity of the reaction. Molecularity is the number of reactant molecules included in the transition state. The above reaction is an 8 2 reaction, because both reactants are present in the transition state. On the other hand, this substitution... 

Another such effect is the intervention of cyclic transition states in reactions of organometallic compounds (Section II, B, 5) with azines or in intramolecular nucleophilic substitutions (Section II, F). 

One interesting phenomenon was the effect of the boron substituent on enantioselectivity. The stereochemistry of the reaction of a-substituted a,/ -unsatu-rated aldehydes was completely independent of the steric features of the boron substituents, probably because of a preference for the s-trans conformation in the transition state in all cases. On the other hand, the stereochemistry of the reaction of cyclopentadiene with a-unsubstituted a,/ -unsaturated aldehydes was dramatically reversed on altering the structure of the boron substituents, because the stable conformation changed from s-cis to s-trans, resulting in production of the opposite enantiomer. It should be noted that selective cycloadditions of a-unsubsti-tuted a,/ -unsaturated aldehydes are rarer than those of a-substituted a,/ -unsatu-... 

The stereoselectivity of these reactions has been interpreted in terms of chair-like six-membered ring transition states in which the substituents a to tin adopt an axial position, possibly because of steric and anomeric effects. The cc-substituted (Z)-isomers are less reactive because the axial preference of the a-substituent would lead to severe 1,3-diaxial interactions17. 

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