ChemInform Abstract: Mechanistic Evaluation of the Halocyclization of 4-Penten-1-ol by Some Bis(2-substituted pyridine) and Bis(2,6-disubstituted pyridine)bromonium Triflates.

Abstract

The halocyclization reaction of 4-penten-1-ol mediated by various bis(2-substituted pyridine) and (2,6- disubstituted pyridine)bromonium triflates (P2Br+OTf-) was investigated to determine the influence of the substituents on the mechanism of reaction. In all cases, the reaction proceeds via a two-step process where the starting P2Br+ reversibly dissociates to a reactive monosubstituted PBr+, which then is captured by 4-penten-1-ol to form halocyclized product (2-bromomethyltetrahydrofuran). The dissociation rate constant of P2Br+ (kd) is sensitive to the steric bulk at the 2- and 6-positions, and in the case of the 2,6-dicyclohexylpyridine or 2,6-dicyclopentylpyridine, the P2Br+ species are too unstable to isolate. The partitioning ratio of the reactive intermediate (PBr+) between reversal and product formation (k-d/k2) is not particularly sensitive to the nature of the pyridine, the limiting values being 3−7 except in the case of bis(2(−)-menthylpyridine)bromonium triflate where the k-d/k2 ratio is ∼80....