Crystal structure – reactivity correlations in the solid state photochemistry of N-(tert-butyl)succinimide

Abstract

In order to provide experimental evidence on the stereoelectronic requirements for intramolecular hydrogen atom abstraction by carbonyl oxygen, N-(tert-butyl)succinimide, 1, was investigated by the crystal structure – reactivity correlation method. In this method, the success or failure of a given reaction in the crystalline state is correlated with the geometric parameters associated with the process as determined by X-ray crystallography. In the case of N-(tert-butyl)succinimide, the crystal and molecular structure shows that the molecule adopts a conformation in which there are very close contacts (d = 2.17–2.24 Å) between the carbonyl oxygen atoms and certain γ-hydrogen atoms on the tert-butyl group. In accord with these close contacts, ultraviolet irradiation of N-(tert-butyl)succinimide in the crystalline state leads to transfer of one of the γ-hydrogen atoms from carbon to oxygen. This produces a 1,4-biradical which closes to form a cyclobutanol, and the cyclobutanol undergoes ring opening to afford the final stable product, tetrahydro-1H-azepine-2,5-dione, 2. The crystal and molecular structure of photoproduct 2 is also reported. In contrast to many solid state transformations, there was no discernable melting of the crystals during reaction, and complete conversions of 1 into 2 could be achieved. The isolated chemical yield of photoproduct 2 from the solid state reaction (79%) is in fact considerably higher than that reported by Kanaoka and Hatanaka for the corresponding solution phase process (49%). This permitted the solid state reaction to be followed to 100% conversion by X-ray powder diffractometry, which showed that the process is a single crystal-to-polycrystalline transformation involving a regular and progressive conversion of 1 into 2 with no obvious diffraction peaks that might be attributable to the intermediate cyclobutanol.