A valence bond view of isocyanides' electronic structure

International audienceHigh level Valence Bond calculations support a predominantly carbenic electronic structure for isocyanides, with a secondary zwitterionic character, despite their linear geometry. This geometry results from the significant energetic stabilization due to nitrogen π lone pair donation. Results are not changed by substitution or solvation effects

The physical origin of large covalent-ionic resonance energies in some two-electron bonds

This study uses valence bond (VB) theory to analyze in detail the previously established finding that alongside the two classical bond families of covalent and ionic bonds, which describe the electron-pair bond, there exists a distinct class of charge-shift bonds (CS-bonds) in which the fluctuation of the electron pair density plays a dominant role. Such bonds are characterized by weak binding, or even a repulsive, covalent component, and by a large covalent-ionic resonance energy RECS that is responsible for the major part, or even for the totality, of the bonding energy. In the present work, the nature of CS-bonding and its fundamental mechanisms are analyzed in detail by means of a VB study of some typical homonuclear bonds (H-H, H3C-CH3, H2N-NH2, HO-OH, F-F, and Cl-Cl), ranging from classical-covalent to fully charge-shift bonds. It is shown that CS-bonding is characterized by a covalent dissociation curve with a shallow minimum situated at long interatomic distances, or even a fully repulsive covalent curve. As the atoms that are involved in the bond are taken from left to right or from bottom to top of the periodic table, the weakening effect of the adjacent bonds or lone pairs increases, while at the same time the reduced resonance integral, that couples the covalent and ionic forms, increases. As a consequence, the weakening of the covalent interaction is gradually compensated by a strengthening of CS-bonding. The large RECS quantity of CS-bonds is shown to be an outcome of the mechanism necessary to establish equilibrium and optimum bonding during bond formation. It is shown that the shrinkage of the orbitals in the covalent structure lowers the potential energy, V, but excessively raises the kinetic energy, T, thereby tipping the virial ratio off-balance. Subsequent addition of the ionic structures lowers T while having a lesser effect on V, thus restoring the requisite virial ratio (T/-V=1/ 2). Generalizing to typically classical covalent bonds, like H-H or C-C bonds, the mechanism by which the virial ratio is obeyed during bond formation is primarily orbital shrinkage, and therefore the charge-shift resonance energy has only a small corrective effect. On the other hand, for bonds bearing adjacent lone pairs and/or involving electronegative atoms, like F-F or Cl-Cl, the formation of the bond corresponds to a large increase of kinetic energy, which must be compensated for by a large participation or covalent - ionic mixing

Etude expérimentale et théorique des couplages de type Ugi et nouvelles réactions de post condensations

Ugi type reactions are well known for decades. These multicomponent reactions involve an aldehyde,an amine, an isocyanide and an acid compound (carboxylic acid or activated phenol). Herein, electronicstructure of isocyanides, as key compounds of these reactions, was studied. Surprisingly, thecarbenic form RN=C was found to be the major one. Contribution of minor mesomeric structureexplains the linearity of the molecule. Then, Ugi and Ugi-Smiles couplings were studied theoreticallyand experimentally. Contrary to the Ugi-Smiles reaction, the final rearrangement of the Ugi coupling,a Mumm one, was not found to be a rate determining step. Importance of microsolvation was investigated.The comprehension of the mechanism of Ugi-Smiles reaction prompted us to investigatetheoretically new acidic partners. Trichlorophenols permitted to isolate the aryl-imidate for the firsttime with a phenol. Nitrosophenols were also considered. Confirmed experimentally, these new adductswere used to propose a new synthesis of benzimidazole. Finally, Ugi type adducts have been used todevelop a new palladium-catalyzed ring-opening of aminocyclopropanes. Rapid access to heterocycliccompounds, such as complex tetracycle with a tandem Heck coupling, can be obtained by this strategy.Les réactions de type Ugi sont connues depuis une cinquantaine d’années. Ces réactions multicomposants mettent en jeu un aldéhyde, une amine, un isonitrile ainsi qu’un dérivé acide (acide carboxylique ou phénol activé). Dans ces travaux, la structure électronique des isonitriles, composé au coeur de ces réactions a été étudiée. La forme carbénique RN=C s’est révélée majoritaire contrairement à toute attente. La linéarité de la molécule a pu être interprétée grâce aux contributions des formes minoritaires. La seconde partie s’est focalisée sur l’étude théorique et expérimentale des couplages de type Ugi. Contrairement à la réaction de Ugi-Smiles, le réarrangement final de la réaction de Ugi, un réarrangement de Mumm, s’est révélé non cinétiquement déterminant. L’importance du rôle de l’environnement a été étudiée par le biais d’une microsolvatation. La compréhension accrue de la réaction de Ugi-Smiles a fait émerger deux nouveaux partenaires acides : les trichlorophenols et les nitrosophenols. Les premiers ont permis d’isoler pour la première fois desaryl-imidates de phénol. Les seconds ont été utilisés pour développer une nouvelle voie de synthèse debenzimidazoles à partir des adduits de Ugi-Smiles correspondants. Enfin, les adduits de type Ugi ont été mis à profit pour développer une nouvelle réaction palladocatalysée d’ouverture d’aminocyclopropanes. Cette ouverture conduit à l’accès rapide de produits hétérocycliques dont des tétracycles complexes suite à une réaction tandem impliquant un couplagede Heck

Experimental and theoretical study of Ugi type couplings and new post-condensation reactions

Les réactions de type Ugi sont connues depuis une cinquantaine d’années. Ces réactions multicomposants mettent en jeu un aldéhyde, une amine, un isonitrile ainsi qu’un dérivé acide (acide carboxylique ou phénol activé). Dans ces travaux, la structure électronique des isonitriles, composé au coeur de ces réactions a été étudiée. La forme carbénique RN=C s’est révélée majoritaire contrairement à toute attente. La linéarité de la molécule a pu être interprétée grâce aux contributions des formes minoritaires. La seconde partie s’est focalisée sur l’étude théorique et expérimentale des couplages de type Ugi. Contrairement à la réaction de Ugi-Smiles, le réarrangement final de la réaction de Ugi, un réarrangement de Mumm, s’est révélé non cinétiquement déterminant. L’importance du rôle de l’environnement a été étudiée par le biais d’une microsolvatation. La compréhension accrue de la réaction de Ugi-Smiles a fait émerger deux nouveaux partenaires acides : les trichlorophenols et les nitrosophenols. Les premiers ont permis d’isoler pour la première fois desaryl-imidates de phénol. Les seconds ont été utilisés pour développer une nouvelle voie de synthèse debenzimidazoles à partir des adduits de Ugi-Smiles correspondants. Enfin, les adduits de type Ugi ont été mis à profit pour développer une nouvelle réaction palladocatalysée d’ouverture d’aminocyclopropanes. Cette ouverture conduit à l’accès rapide de produits hétérocycliques dont des tétracycles complexes suite à une réaction tandem impliquant un couplagede Heck.Ugi type reactions are well known for decades. These multicomponent reactions involve an aldehyde,an amine, an isocyanide and an acid compound (carboxylic acid or activated phenol). Herein, electronicstructure of isocyanides, as key compounds of these reactions, was studied. Surprisingly, thecarbenic form RN=C was found to be the major one. Contribution of minor mesomeric structureexplains the linearity of the molecule. Then, Ugi and Ugi-Smiles couplings were studied theoreticallyand experimentally. Contrary to the Ugi-Smiles reaction, the final rearrangement of the Ugi coupling,a Mumm one, was not found to be a rate determining step. Importance of microsolvation was investigated.The comprehension of the mechanism of Ugi-Smiles reaction prompted us to investigatetheoretically new acidic partners. Trichlorophenols permitted to isolate the aryl-imidate for the firsttime with a phenol. Nitrosophenols were also considered. Confirmed experimentally, these new adductswere used to propose a new synthesis of benzimidazole. Finally, Ugi type adducts have been used todevelop a new palladium-catalyzed ring-opening of aminocyclopropanes. Rapid access to heterocycliccompounds, such as complex tetracycle with a tandem Heck coupling, can be obtained by this strategy

Revisiting the Passerini Reaction Mechanism: Existence of the Nitrilium, Organocatalysis of Its Formation, and Solvent Effect

The Passerini reaction mechanism is revisited using high-level DFT calculations. Contrary to the common belief, the nitrilium intermediate is found to be stable in solution and its formation is rate-determining. The present results point out that this step is catalyzed by a second carboxylic acid molecule, as the subsequent Mumm rearrangement is. The solvent effect on the reaction rate was investigated. In a protic solvent like methanol, hydrogen bonds are responsible of the increasing barrier of the rate-determining step, compared to the commonly used solvent, the dichloromethane

Palladium-catalyzed ring opening of aminocyclopropyl Ugi adducts

International audienceThe ring opening of aminocyclopropanes triggered by activation with an intramolecular arylpalladium(II) iodide complex is an interesting strategy for the synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles and a valuable Ugi postcondensation-type transformation. Six- and seven-membered-ring cyclic enamines may be obtained. © Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart * New York

Challenging 50 Years of Established Views on Ugi Reaction: A Theoretical Approach

International audienceThe Ugi reaction is one of the most famous multicomponent couplings, and its efficiency is still explained by the original mechanism suggested by Ugi in the 60s. This article aims to present a thorough theoretical study of this reaction. It describes how the imine is activated and how the new stereogenic center is formed. Our calculations strongly suggest alternatives to some commonly accepted features, such as the reversibility of the intermediate steps, and temper the nature of the driving force of the reaction

Synthesis, Structure and Reactivities of Pentacoordinated Phosphorus–Boron Bonded Compounds

The isolation and reactivities of two pentacoordinatedphosphorus–tetracoordinated boron bonded compounds were explored. A strong Lewis acidic boron reagent and electronwithdrawing ligand system were required to form the pentacoordinated phosphorus state of the P–B bond. The first compound, a phosphoranyl-trihydroborate, gave a THF stabilised phosphoranyl-borane intermediate upon a single hydride abstraction in THF. This compound could undergo a unique rearrangement reaction, which involved a two-fold ring expansion, to give a fused bicyclic compound or it could act as a mono-hydroboration reagent. The hydroboration reactivity of the intermediate was found to be more reactive towards alkynes over alkenes with good to moderate regioselectivity towards the terminal carbon. The second compound, a phosphoranyl-triarylborate, was found to have different reactivity as it was highly stable towards acids and bases. This is thought to be due to the large bulk around the P–B bond as shown in the crystal structure.<br /

コンピュータで化学反応の世界を探る

京都大学アカデミックデイ2014 「みんなで対話する京都大学の日」[日時]2014年9月28日(日)10:00-16:00, [場所]京都大学百周年時計台記念

Substituent Effects in Ugi–Smiles Reactions

International audienceIn a recent communication, we described the mechanism of the well-known Ugi-type reactions with a model system ( J. Org. Chem. 2012, 77, 1361−1366). Herein, focusing on the Ugi–Smiles coupling, we study the effects of each of the four reactants on the energy profile to further explain the experimental results. The variations observed with different carbonyl compounds rely on their influence on the formation of the aryl-imidate, whereas the variations on the amine preferentially affect the Smiles rearrangement. The effect of substituents on the phenol derivative is seen upon both aryl-imidate formation and the rearrangement. The effect of the isocyanide substituents is less pronounced