On the possibility of conversion of strained bridgehead alkenes into carbenes via 1,2 hydrogen and 1,2 carbon migrations. A theoretical study of the rearrangements in the adamantene and protoadamantene systems

Abstract

Rearrangements of 2-adamantene 3, adamantylidene 4, and 4-protoadamantylidene 5 have been studied theoretically using high level ab initio computations. Adamantene 3 and adamantylidene 4 have singlet ground states. The conversion of 3 into 4 via 1,2 hydrogen migration ( Δ Gdouble dagger = 69.1 kcal mol-1) cannot compete with 1,2 carbon migration of 3 to 5 (30.3 kcal mol-1). The singlet carbene 5 rearranges to 2,4-dehydroadamantane 6 and 4,5-protoadamantene 9 via 1,3H and 1,2H shifts, respectively, with identical activation barriers of 8.8 kcal mol-1. The 1,2 migration of the bridge hydrogen in 5 leading to 3,4 protoadamantene 8 has a higher activation barrier (37.2 kcal mol-1). A retro Diels-Alder cycloaddition of 3 to 5-allyl-3-methylenecyclohex-1-ene 7 is the main channel of the unimolecular conversion of 3 ( Δ Gdouble dagger = 20.5 kcal mol-1). A predicted ratio of 7 > > 6 approx 9 of the products of thermolysis of 3 is in agreement with experimental data. The rearrangement of 4 into 6 via the 1,3H shift ( Δ Gdouble dagger = 11.8 kcal mol-1) dominates over the 1,2C shift of 4 to 8 (13.5 kcal mol-1), also in accord with experiment.Key words: adamantene, protoadamantenes, carbenes, rearrangements, ab initio, computation.