Wheland

Refer to Computer Project 7-2. Calculate p in units of electron volts using Wheland s extension of Huckel molecular orbital theory. 

Wheland, G. W., 1955. Resonance in Organic Chemistry. Wiley, New York. 

Wheland intermediate (see below) as its model for the transition state. In this form it is illustrated by the case mentioned above, that of nitration of the phenyltrimethylammonium ion. For this case the transition state for -nitration is represented by (v) and that for p-substitution by (vi). It is argued that electrostatic repulsions in the former are smaller than in the latter, so that m-nitration is favoured, though it is associated rvith deactivation. Similar descriptions can be given for the gross effects of other substituents upon orientation. 

M.o. theory and the transition state treatment In 1942 Wheland proposed a simple model for the transition state of electrophilic substitution in which a pair of electrons is localised at the site of substitution, and the carbon atom at that site has changed from the sp to the sp state of hybridisation. Such a structure, originally proposed as a model for the transition state is now known to describe the (T-complexes which are intermediates in electrophilic substitutions... 

The fact that the ratios of rates were much greater in chlorination than in nitration, prompted Dewar to suggest that the actual transition state was intermediate between the Wheland model and the isolated molecule model. He accommodated this variation in the relative rates within his discussion by treating yS as a variable whose value depended on the nature of the reaction. With the notation that y ) is the... 

Dewar s treatment of transition state structure, using reactivity numbers, has the logical defect that in the intermediate kinds of transition states for which it provides evidence the electron localisation is only partial. However, in obtaining the values of the reactivity numbers (which are approximate localization energies), the process of localization is considered to be complete thus, values of parameters which strictly are relevant only to the Wheland type of transition state are incorporated into a different model. ... 

However, the existence of the Wheland intermediate is not demanded by the evidence, for if the attack of the electrophile and the loss of the proton were synchronous an isotope effect would also be expected. The... 

A different explanation of the high 0 -ratios is based on the view, for which there is some evidence, that in a transition state for substitution which resembles the Wheland intermediate in structure there is a larger positive charge at the - than at the o-position. Substituents of the present type would therefore stabilise the transition state more from the 0-than from the -position. ... 

Thompson points out that there is no evidence that adducts give other than acetates on thermolysis. The exocyclic methylene intermediate (iv) postulated by Robinson could arise by proton abstraction from a Wheland intermediate analogous to (vll) above, rather than from the adduct (in). Similarly its decomposition does not necessarily require the intermediacy of the adduct (v). The fact that i -methyl-4-nitromethylnaphthalene is the product even when the nitrating medium is nitric acid and nitromethane would then require no separate explanation. 

Table 1-4 gives some calculated reactivity indices free valence or Wheland atomic localization energies for radical, electrophilic, or nucleophilic substitution. For each set of data the order of decreasing reactivity is indicated. In practice this order is more reliable than the absolute values of the reactivity indices themselves. 

Free-radical reactivity of thiazole has been calculated by semiempirical methods, and results free valence and localization energy) have been compared with experimental data. For mono- and dimethylthiazoles the radical localization energy of the unsubstituted position may be correlated with the logarithm of experimental reactivity (180, 200). The value of the slope shows that a Wheland-type complex is involved in the transition state. 

G. W. Wheland, Advances in Organic Chemisty, 2nd ed., John Wiley Sons, Inc., New York, 1949, p. 42 Organic Electronic Spectral Data, Vol. 1, Interscience Pubflshers, Inc., New York, 1960, p. 545. 

Nitrobenzoic acid [552-16-9] M 167.1, m 146-148 , pK 2.21. Crystd from benzene (twice), n-butyl ether (twice), then water (twice). Dried and stored in a vacuum desiccator. [Le Noble and Wheland J Am Chem Soc 80 5397 1958.] Has also been crystd from EtOH/water. 

Wheland and Pauling (1959) tried to explain the inductive effect in terms of ar-electron theory by varying the ax and ySxY parameters for nearest-neighbour atoms, then for next-nearest-neighbour atoms and so on. But, as many authors have also pointed out, it is always easy to introduce yet more parameters into a simple model, obtain agreement with an experimental finding and then claim that the model represents some kind of absolute truth. 

It should be pointed out that the existence of stable structures of the intermediate-complex type (also known as a-complexes or Wheland complexes) is not of itself evidence for their being obligate intermediates in aromatic nucleophilic substitution. The lack of an element effect is suggested, but not established as in benzene derivatives (see Sections I,D,2 and II, D). The activated order of halogen reactivity F > Cl Br I has been observed in quantita-tivei36a,i37 Tables II, VII-XIII) and in many qualitative studies (see Section II, D). The reverse sequence applies to some less-activated compounds such as 3-halopyridines, but not in general.Bimolecular kinetics has been established by Chapman and others (Sections III, A and IV, A) for various reactions. 

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