Understanding the influence of lewis acids in the regioselectivity of the diels-alder reactions of 2-methoxy-5-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone: a dft study
The mechanisms of the Diels–Alder (DA) reactions of 2-methoxy-5-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone 1 with 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene 2, in the absence and in the presence of LA catalysts, have been studied using the DFT method at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory. The uncatalyzed DA reactions between 1 and 2 take place via synchronous concerted TSs. The large activation barrier as well as the low stereo and regioselectivity associated with the uncatalyzed process are in clear agreement with the non-polar character of the cycloaddition. Coordination of the LA catalysts, BF3 or SnCl4, to the oxygen atoms of the benzoquinone 1 produces a large acceleration of the reaction, which can be associated with the l…
Understanding the stereo- and regioselectivities of the polar Diels-Alder reactions between 2-acetyl-1,4-benzoquinone and methyl substituted 1,3-butadienes: a DFT study
The polar Diels–Alder (DA) reactions of 2-acetyl-1,4-benzoquinone (acBQ) with methyl substituted 1,3-butadienes have been studied using DFT methods at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory. These reactions are characterized by a nucleophilic attack of the unsubstituted ends of the 1,3-dienes to the β conjugated position of the acBQ followed by ring-closure. The reactions present a total regioselectivity and large endo selectivity. The analysis based on the global electrophilicity of the reagents at the ground state, and the natural bond orbital (NBO) population analysis at the transition states correctly explain the polar nature of these cycloadditions. The large electrophilic character of acB…
A dft study of the regioselectivity in intramolecular diels-alder reactions with formation of a tricyclodecane skeleton
Three different intramolecular Diels-Alder (IMDA) reactions associated with the formation of fused and bridged tricyclodecane skeletons have been studied at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) computational level. While substitution on the diene and dienophile fragments modulates the polar character of the reaction, the strain effect produced by the methylene tether affects the activation energy, and its torsion controls the different regioisomeric channels of the IMDA process. Analysis of the reactivity indices recently proposed (J. Soto-Delgado et al., Org. Biomol. Chem., 2010, 8, 3678) within the conceptual density functional theory allows for the characterization of the mechanism including the charge tr…
Theoretical study on the molecular mechanism of the [5 + 2] vs. [4 + 2] cyclization mediated by Lewis acid in the quinone system
[EN] The thermal and Lewis acid (LA) catalyzed cyclizations of quinone 1 involved in the synthesis of Colombiasin A and Elipsaterosin B have been theoretically studied using DFT methods at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) computational level. B3LYP calculations suggest that the formal endo [4 + 2] cycloadduct allowing the synthesis of Colombiasin A is preferentially formed under thermal conditions, while in the presence of the BF3 LA catalyst the formal [5 + 2] cycloadduct is seen, allowing the synthesis of Elipsaterosin B. The BF3 LA catalyst not only accelerates the nucleophilic attack on the C2 carbon of the quinone framework through a more polar C-C bond formation, but also provokes a different el…
Quantitative characterization of group electrophilicity and nucleophilicity for intramolecular Diels–Alder reactions
In a previous work (L. R. Domingo, M. J. Aurell, P. Perez and R. Contreras, Tetrahedron 2002, 58, 4417) we proposed that the difference in global electrophilicity index be taken as a measure of the polarity at the transition state in intermolecular Diels-Alder reactions. We herein extend this model to deal with intramolecular Diels-Alder (IMDA) processes. The transferability of the empirical reactivity rules established for the intermolecular DA reactions to the IMDA reactions is discussed. The analysis based on group electrophilicity and nucleophilicity in general fails because having two different reactivity patterns within the same molecule hampers a clean classification of electrophilic…
Invariance of electrophilicity of independent fragments. Application to intramolecular diels-alder reactions
Abstract We herein demonstrate that the global electrophilicity may be distributed into fragments within a single molecule by using an empirical partitioning scheme of the electronic chemical potential framed on the chemical potential inequality principle. Group electrophilicity for several fragments may thereby be defined. Their values show a remarkable stability, independent of the chemical environment they are attached to. The model is applied to asses the chemical reactivity of a series of fragments involved in intramolecular Diels–Alder reactions.
On the Catalytic Effect of Water in the Intramolecular Diels–Alder Reaction of Quinone Systems: A Theoretical Study
The mechanism of the intramolecular Diels#8211;Alder (IMDA) reaction of benzoquinone 1, in the absence and in the presence of three water molecules, 1w, has been studied by means of density functional theory (DFT) methods, using the M05-2X and B3LYP functionals for exploration of the potential energy surface (PES). The energy and geometrical results obtained are complemented with a population analysis using the NBO method, and an analysis based on the global, local and group electrophilicity and nucleophilicity indices. Both implicit and explicit solvation emphasize the increase of the polarity of the reaction and the reduction of activation free energies associated with the transition stat…
The catalytic effects of a thiazolium salt in the oxa-Diels–Alder reaction between benzaldehyde and Danishefsky's diene: a molecular electron density theory study
The oxa-Diels–Alder (ODA) reaction of benzaldehyde with Danishefsky's diene in the presence of a [thiazolium][Cl] salt, as a model of an ionic liquid, has been studied within Molecular Electron Density Theory (MEDT) at the M06-2X/6-311G(d,p) computational level. The formation of two hydrogen bonds (HBs) between the thiazolium cation and the carbonyl oxygen of benzaldehyde modifies neither the electrophilic character of benzaldehyde nor its electronic structure substantially but accelerates the reaction considerably. This ODA reaction presents an activation energy of 4.5 kcal mol−1; the formation of the only observed dihydropyranone is strongly exothermic by −28.8 kcal mol−1. The presence of…