ISomerization of xylene: MINDO/3 study of the cyclization of benzenium cation into bicyclo[3.1.0]hexenyl cation

Abstract A MINDO/3 study of thermal electrocyclic closing of the benzenium cation to form a bicyclo[3.1.0]hexenyl cation is presented. The calculated mechanism discusses the possibility of cyclization of xylenium cations on a silica catalyst or in superacid media. The structure and energy of the transition state, the enthalpies of isomerization and barriers of activation were calculated for the following processes: isomerization of 2,6-dimethylbenzenium cation into 2,6-dimethylbicyclo[3.1.0]hexenyl cation, isomerization of 2,4-dimethylbenzenium cation into 2,4-dimethylbicyclo[3.1.0]-hexenyl cation, and isomerization of benzenium cation into bicyclo[3.1.0]-hexenyl cation. Equilibrium and kin…