Substituent effects on the reactivity of the silicon–carbon double bond. Arrhenius parameters for the reaction of 1,1 -diarylsilenes with alcohols and acetic acid

1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (10) ◽  
pp. 1393-1402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine J. Bradaric ◽  
William J. Leigh

Absolute rate constants for the reaction of a series of ring-substituted 1,1 -diphenylsilene derivatives with methanol, tert-butanol, and acetic acid in acetonitrile solution have been determined using nanosecond laser flash photolysis techniques. The three reactions exhibit small positive Hammett ρ-values at 23 °C, consistent with a mechanism involving initial, reversible nucleophilic attack at silicon to form a σ-bonded complex that collapses to product via rate-limiting proton transfer. Deuterium kinetic isotope effects and Arrhenius parameters have been determined for the reactions of 1,1-di-(4-methylphenyl)silene and 1,1-di-(4-trifluoromethylphenyl)silene with methanol, and are compared to those for the parent compound. Proton transfer within the complex is dominated by entropic factors, resulting in negative activation energies for reaction. The trends in the data can be rationalized in terms of variations in the relative rate constants for reversion to reactants and proton transfer as a function of temperature and substituent. A comparison of the Arrhenius activation energies for reaction of acetic acid with 1,1-diphenylsilene (Ea = +1.9 ± 0.3 kcal/mol) and the more reactive di-trifluoromethyl analogue (Ea = +3.6 ± 0.5 kcal/mol) suggests that carboxylic acids also add by a stepwise mechanism, but with formation of the complex being rate determining. Keywords: silene, substituent effects, kinetics, Arrhenius, flash photolysis.

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence A. Huck ◽  
William J. Leigh

The mechanisms of the reactions of diphenylgermylene (GePh2) with CCl4 in hydrocarbon solvents and in THF solution have been studied, employing 3,4-dimethyl-1,1-diphenylgermacyclopent-3-ene (6a) and 1,1-diphenylgermacyclobutane (17) as photochemical precursors to GePh2. In hydrocarbon solvents, the reaction produces Ph2GeCl2 (10) and Ph2Ge(Cl)CCl3 (12) in a ratio of 10:12 ≈ 7, along with a variety of other radical-derived products and small amounts of Ph2GeH(D)Cl (11), which is formed partly by reaction of GePh2 with adventitious HCl. The reaction is much cleaner in THF, where 12 is formed as the major product (10:12 ≈ 0.8); a similar product distribution is obtained in hexanes containing 0.05 mol/L THF, while 12 is the exclusive product in hexanes containing 3 mmol/L NEt3. Rate constants for the reactions of CCl4 with GePh2 and five ring-substituted derivatives were determined by laser flash photolysis, as well as Arrhenius parameters for reaction of the parent (GePh2), in the two solvents. The reactions of GePh2 with CCl4 and CHCl3 have also been studied in 3-methylpentane solution at 78–90 K. Different reaction mechanisms are clearly operative in hydrocarbon and complexing solvents, but both involve modest charge donation from germanium to the substrate in the transition state for the rate-determining step. For the reaction in hydrocarbon solvents, the data are consistent with inner-sphere electron transfer following or in concert with weak Lewis acid–base complexation. A similar mechanism is proposed for the reaction in THF solution, in competition with a second involving nucleophilic attack of the germylene–THF complex at a chlorine atom of the substrate. Rate constants were also determined for reaction of CCl4 with the corresponding tetraaryldigermenes at low halocarbon concentrations in hexanes, along with Arrhenius parameters for the parent (Ge2Ph4). These reactions also proceed via initial Cl-atom abstraction, based on the identity of the products formed in the reaction of CCl4 with tetramesityldigermene.


1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Leigh ◽  
J. Alberto Postigo

The photochemistry and photophysics of 1-phenylcyclobutene and five aryl-substituted derivatives have been studied in various solvents at room temperature. All six compounds fluoresce with quantum yields in the 0.2–0.3 range in cyclohexane and acetonitrile solution. 1-Phenylcyclobutene undergoes [2+2]-cycloreversion [Formula: see text] to yield phenylacetylene upon photolysis in either hydrocarbon or acetonitrile solution, and undergoes (Markovnikov) solvent addition upon irradiation in methanol solution [Formula: see text] in addition to cycloreversion. Triplet sensitization and quenching experiments indicate that cycloreversion and methanol addition are both excited singlet state processes. None of the six compounds studied undergo ring opening to the corresponding 2-aryl-1,3-butadiene in detectable yield. Quantum yields for cycloreversion in cyclohexane, acetonitrile, and methanol solution and methanol addition have been determined for the six compounds, along with excited singlet state lifetimes. The quantum yields and rate constants for cycloreversion and methanol addition are both enhanced by substitution with electron-donating groups. The variation in the rate constant for [2+2]-cycloreversion with substituent indicates that there is substantial dipolar character developed in the cyclobutenyl σ-bond framework during the reaction, in almost exact correspondence with that developed in the π system during photoprotonation. No deuterium scrambling is observed in 1-phenylcyclobutene-2,4,4-d3 after photolysis in pentane solution to ca. 80% conversion, indicating that skeletal rearrangements leading to cyclopropyl carbenes do not occur in the direct photolysis of arylcyclobutene derivatives. A pericyclic mechanism for the photocycloreversion reaction is suggested. Triplet–triplet absorption spectra and triplet lifetimes of 1-phenyl-, 1-(para-methylphenyl)-, and 1-(para-trifluoromethylphenyl)cyclobutene in hydrocarbon solution are also reported. Keywords: photochemistry, cyclobutene, fluorescence, [2+2]-cycloreversion, substituent effects, nanosecond laser flash photolysis, lifetime, triplet state, styrene, photoaddition


1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 967-972 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Minto ◽  
A. Samanta ◽  
P.K. Das

1-Thiobenzoylnaphthalene (TBN), known for its pericyclization reaction from the lowest excited singlet state (S1), has been subjected to nanosecond and picosecond laser flash photolysis studies. The two major transients observed in the course of nanosecond laser pulse excitation are (i) the short-lived triplet characterized by two absorption maxima (400–410 and 740–750 nm) and submicrosecond intrinsic lifetimes (80–130 ns) and (ii) a relatively long-lived species (λmax = 520 nm and τ = 220–240 ns). Various triplet-related photophysical data of TBN, including self-quenching and bimolecular quenching rate constants, have been determined. The existence of a photochemical path from S1 manifests itself in low intersystem crossing quantum yields, particularly in the polar/hydrogen-bonding solvent, methanol. From the build-up of the triplet under picosecond excitation into S1 the lifetime of the latter is estimated to be ≤ 50 ps (in benzene). The fast intrinsic decay of TBN triplet is attributable to facile intra- and intermolecular photochemistry. The 520 nm transient species could not be definitively assigned, except that it is neither a triplet nor a triplet-derived product and that it arises via photochemistry from S1. Keywords: laser flash photolysis, triplet, transients, absorption maxima, lifetimes, quenching rate constants, photochemistry, 1-thiobenzoylnaphthalenes.


2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 799-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
N P Schepp ◽  
Y Rodríguez-Evora

Nanosecond laser flash photolysis of coniferyl alcohol and isoeugenol in acetonitrile leads to the formation of transient species that are identified as the corresponding radical cations. These radical cations decay with rate constants of ca. 1 × 106 s–1 in dry acetonitrile. Both radical cations react rapidly with hydroxylic solvents like water and alcohols to give 4-vinylphenoxyl radicals, indicating that these reagents behave as bases rather than nucleophiles. In addition, anionic reagents (acetate, cyanide, and chloride) react rapidly with the radical cations with second-order rate constants that are close to diffusion controlled. The main products generated in the presence of the anionic reagents are again the 4-vinylphenoxyl radicals, suggesting that these reagents also behave as bases. The lifetime of the radical cations in acidic acetonitrile was found to increase dramatically due to a shift in the radical cation – vinyl phenoxyl radical acid–base equilibrium to the side of the radical cation. An estimate of the pKa of the radical cation in acetonitrile of 4.0 was obtained from the data.Key words: radical cations, laser flash photolysis, lignan, vinylphenols.


2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (7) ◽  
pp. 934-948 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J Leigh ◽  
Ileana G Dumbrava ◽  
Farahnaz Lollmahomed

Photolysis of 1,3,4-trimethyl-1-phenylgermacyclopent-3-ene (5) in hydrocarbon solvents containing isoprene, methanol, or acetic acid affords 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene (DMB) and the expected trapping products of methyl phenylgermylene (GeMePh) in chemical yields exceeding 90%. The germylene has been detected in hexane solution by laser flash photolysis as a short-lived species (τ ~ 2 µs) exhibiting a UV-vis absorption spectrum centered at λmax = 490 nm. It decays with second-order kinetics and a rate constant close to the diffusion-controlled limit, with the concomitant growth of a second longer-lived transient (λmax = 420 nm) that is assigned to a mixture of (E)- and (Z)-1,2-dimethyl-1,2-diphenyldigermene (4). Absolute rate constants have been determined for the reactions of the germylene with primary and tertiary amines (n-BuNH2 and Et3N, respectively), acetic acid (AcOH), a terminal alkyne and alkene, isoprene, DMB, CCl4, and the group 14 hydrides Et3SiH and Bu3SnH. GeMePh is slightly more reactive than GePh2 towards all the reagents studied in this work; both are significantly less reactive than GeMe2 toward the same substrates. Absolute rate constants for the reactions of 4 have also been measured or assigned upper limits in every case and are compared to previously reported values for tetraphenyl- and tetramethyl-digermene with the same reagents.Key words: germylene, digermene, kinetics, laser flash photolysis, germirane, germirene, vinylgermirane, complex, UV–vis spectrum, insertion, addition.


1992 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 1319-1323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinjiro Kobayashi ◽  
Wolfram Schnabel

Vinyl cations of the structure were generated by flash photolysis of the corresponding halides. Lifetime measurements with the aid of optical absorption measurements yielded bimolecular rate constants k2 of the reaction of I+ with tetrahydrofuran and several aliphatic alcohols. On the basis of k2 values the steric effect of various substituents R1 and R2 at C2 and the combined mesomeric (+M) and inductive (-1) effect of substituent groups at C1 on the electrophilicity of I+ have been elucidated.


2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (12) ◽  
pp. 1105-1117 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J Leigh ◽  
Andrey G Moiseev ◽  
Eugenie Coulais ◽  
Farahnaz Lollmahomed ◽  
Mohammad S Askari

Laser flash photolysis of 2-phenylheptamethyltrisilane (5d), 2,2-diphenylhexamethyltrisilane (5e), and phenyltris(trimethylsilyl)silane (5f) in hexane and acetonitrile solution affords strong, long-lived transient absorptions centered in the 440–470 nm range, which are assigned to the transient silenes formed via [1,3]-trimethylsilyl migration into the ortho-position of a phenyl ring on the basis of their UV–vis spectra and kinetic data for their reactions with methanol (MeOH), acetic acid (AcOH), acetone, 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene (DMB), carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), and oxygen. The silene derivatives are formed along with the corresponding silylenes (SiMePh, SiPh2, and Si(SiMe3)Ph, respectively) upon photolysis of these compounds in solution, and indeed, weak, short-lived transient absorptions assignable to the silylenes can also be detected in laser photolysis experiments with the three compounds in hexane, superimposed on the much more prominent absorptions due to the silenes. The silylene absorptions are quenched by MeOH and triethylsilane (Et3SiH) with absolute rate constants varying over the narrow ranges of (1.1–1.8) × 1010 (mol/L)–1 s–1 and (2.5–3.6) × 109 (mol/L)–1 s–1, respectively, in excellent agreement with previously reported values for SiPh2 and SiMe2 under the same conditions. The kinetic data obtained for the silenes are compared to previously reported data for the reactions of the same substrates with the related silenes (6a–6c) formed by photolysis of pentamethylphenyl-, 1,1,1,2-tetramethyl-2,2-diphenyl-, and 1,1,1-trimethyl-2,2,2-triphenyldisilane (5a–5c, respectively) under similar conditions. The comparison provides the first systematic, quantitative assessment of the stabilizing effects of trialkylsilyl substitution at the silenic silicon atom in silene derivatives.Key words: silene, silylene, trisilane, tetrasilane, kinetics.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leandro Scorsin ◽  
Leticia Martins ◽  
Haidi Fiedler ◽  
Faruk Nome ◽  
RENE NOME

In the present work, we study the transient laser-induced formation of 4-nitrophenolate (4-NPO<sup>-</sup>) in the ground electronic state and subsequent proton transfer reaction with acetic acid and water with numerical calculations and laser flash photolysis. We employ the Debye-Smoluchowski spherically-symmetric diffusion model of photoacid proton transfer to determine experimental conditions for studying thermally activated chemical reactions in the ground electronic state. Numerically calculated protonation and deprotonation probabilities for 4-NPO<sup>-</sup> and 4-nitrophenol (4-NPOH) in both ground and excited states showed the feasibility of efficiently producing the ground state anion in the photoacid cycle. We performed laser flash photolysis measurements of 4-NPOH to characterize the photo-initiated ground state protonation and deprotonation rate constants of 4-NPO<sup>-</sup>/4-NPOH as a function of acetic acid, pH, temperature and viscosity. Overall, the work presented here shows a simple way to study fast competing bimolecular proton transfer reactions in non-equilibrium conditions in the ground electronic state <i>(GSPT)</i>.


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