Diradical Intermediates Research Articles

Probing Bis-FeIV MauG: Isolation of Highly Reactive Radical Intermediates.

MauG is a diheme enzyme that utilizes two covalently bound c-type heme centers. We report here step-wise oxidations of a synthetic analogue of MauG in which two heme centers are bridged covalently through a flexible linker containing a pyrrole moiety. One- and two-electron oxidations produce monocation radical and dication diradical intermediates, respectively, which, being highly reactive, undergo spontaneous intramolecular rearrangement involving the pyrrole bridge itself to form indolizinium-fused chlorin-porphyrin and spiro-porphyrinato heterodimers. Unlike in MauG, where the two oxidizing equivalents produce the bis-FeIV redox state, the synthetic analogue of the same, however, stabilizes two ferric hemes, each coupled with a porphyrin π-cation radical. The present study highlights the possible role played by the bridge in the electronic communication.

Thia-Diels-Alder reactions of hetaryl thioketones with non-activated 1,3-dienes

Abstract Dihetaryl thioketones substituted with thiophen-2-yl and seleophen-2-yl rings react as superdienophilic reagents with non-activated 1,3-dienes such as 2,3-dimethylbuta-1,3-diene, cyclopentadiene and mixtures of isomeric hexa-2,4-dienes to produce the expected 2 H -thiopyrans in good to excellent yields. In the latter case, the corresponding cis -3,6-dihydro-3,6-dimethyl-2,2-dihetaryl-2 H -thiopyrans are formed as the sole products in a stereoconvergent thia-Diels-Alder reaction. A step-wise mechanism via delocalized intermediate diradicals is postulated to rationalize the observed reaction course. Treatment of 3,6-dihydro-4,5-dimethyl-2,2-di(thien-2-yl)-2 H -thiopyran with excess m CPBA at room temperature leads to the oxidation of both the C=C bond and the sulfur atom in the six-membered ring.

Construction of Polyarylenes with Various Structural Features via Bergman Cyclization Polymerization.

Synthetic polymer chemistry is a fundamental part of polymer science, and highly efficient polymerization reactions are essential for the synthesis of high-performance polymers. Development of new synthetic methods for emerging polymer science is of great importance in this regard. Bergman cyclization is a chemical process in which highly reactive aryl diradicals form from enediyne precursors, having a strong impact in a number of fields including pharmaceutics, synthetic chemistry, and materials science. Diradical intermediates stemming from enediynes can cause DNA cleavage under physiological conditions, leading to the strong cytotoxicity of many naturally occurring enediyne antibiotics. Meanwhile, diradical intermediates can quickly couple with each other to construct polyarylenes, providing a novel method to synthesize these conjugated polymers with the advantages of facile and catalyst-free operation, high efficiency, and tailored structure. Moreover, conjugated polymers generated by Bergman cyclization exhibit many remarkable properties, such as excellent thermal stability and good solubility and processability, enabling their further processing into carbon-rich materials. This review presents a brief overview of the trajectory of Bergman cyclization in polymer science, followed by an introduction to research advances, mainly from our group, in developing polymerization methods based on Bergman cyclization, taking advantages of its catalyst-free, byproduct-free, insitu polymerization mechanism to synthesize new polymeric materials with various structures and morphologies. These synthetic strategies include fabrication of rod-like polymers with polyester, dendrimer, and chiral imide side chains, functionalization of carbon nanomaterials by surface-grafting conjugated polymers, formation of nanoparticles by intramolecular collapse of single polymer chains, and construction of carbon nanomembranes on the external and internal surface of inorganic nanomaterials. These polymers with novel structural features have been used in a variety of fields, such as energy transformation, energy storage, catalyst support, and fluorescent detection. Finally, the outlook for future developments of Bergman cyclization in polymer science is presented.

Thia-Diels–Alder reactions of hetaryl thioketones with nonactivated 1,3-dienes leading to 3,6-dihydro-2H-pyrans: evidence for a diradical mechanism

Dihetaryl thioketones possessing thiophen-2-yl and selenophen-2-yl rings react as “superdienophilic” reagents with nonactivated 1,3-dienes such as 2,3-dimethylbuta-1,3-diene, cyclopentadiene, and mixtures of isomeric hexa-2,4-dienes to produce the expected 2H-thiopyrans in moderate to excellent yields. In the latter case, the corresponding cis-2,2-dihetaryl-3,6-dimethyl-3,6-dihydro-2H-thiopyrans are formed as the sole products in a stereoconvergent thia-Diels–Alder reaction. A stepwise mechanism via delocalized diradical intermediates is postulated to rationalize the observed reaction course. Treatment of 4,5-dimethyl-2,2-di(thiophen-2-yl)-3,6-dihydro-2H-thiopyran with excess of m-CPBA at room temperature leads to the oxidation of the C=C bond and the sulfur atom in the six-membered ring.

New Charge-Transfer Complexes with 1,2,5-Thiadiazoles as Both Electron Acceptors and Donors Featuring an Unprecedented Addition Reaction.

The design and synthesis of novel charge-transfer (CT) complexes are of interest for fundamental chemistry and applications to materials science. In addition to the recently described first CT complex with both electron acceptor (A) and donor (D) groups belonging to the 1,2,5-thiadiazole series (1; A: 4-nitro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole; D: 4-amino-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole), herein novel CT complexes 2 and 3 with 1,2,5-thiadiazoles as both A (4,6-dinitro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole and [1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-c][1,2,5]thiadiazole) and D (4-amino-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole) were synthesized. The series is completed by complex 4 with [1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-c][1,2,5]thiadiazole as A and phenoxatellurine as D. Structures of complexes 2-4 were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD), as well as solution and solid-state UV/Vis spectroscopy. Thermodynamics of their formation were obtained by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, their bonding situations were analyzed by quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) calculations and dimer model energies of interactions quantified in the framework of the Hirshfeld surface (HS) analysis. With DFT calculations, the largest value of CT between D and A was found for complex 2, with 0.027 e in the XRD structure and 0.150 e in the optimized structure in MeCN. In the UV/Vis spectra, the λmax of the CT bands of 2-4 varied in the range λ=517-705 nm. Model energy calculations for 1-4 revealed the importance of both dispersion interactions and hydrogen bonding between D and A as contributors to CT in the crystalline state. In an attempt to enlarge the CT value with bis[1,2,5-thiadiazolo][3,4-b;3',4'-e]pyrazine as A and 4-amino-2,1,3-benzoselenadiazole as D, an unprecedented 1:1 addition reaction was observed upon formation of a C-N bond between atom C7 of D and pyrazine atom N4 of A, accompanied by hydrogen atom transfer from C7 to another pyrazine atom N8 (compound 5). According to DFT calculations, the reaction is a multistep process featuring diradical intermediates and hydrogen atom intramolecular migration over four positions. Molecular and crystal structures of 5 (solvate with toluene) were elucidated by XRD and the crystal structure revealed a rather unusual porous framework.

Tuning Nonlinear Optical Properties by Altering the Diradical and Charge-Transfer Characteristics of Chichibabin's Hydrocarbon Derivatives.

Heteroatomic derivatives of Chichibabin's hydrocarbon are explored theoretically to highlight the relationship between the electronic structure and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. The results show that the systems are divided into two classes: one that has intermediate electronic structure between two main contributing resonance structures, and a second with an electronic structure that is approximated by only one resonance structure. It is found that the former class of derivatives exhibits approximately one-order larger static second hyperpolarizability (γ) than the latter class, because of either their intermediate diradical or charge-transfer (CT) characteristics. The asymmetric systems are further scrutinized by using the static electric field model, which shows that the intermediate CT character is essential for the very large enhancement of γ in the asymmetric systems. These results not only clarify the structure-property relationships of open-shell singlet NLO compounds with redox switching properties, but also shed light on a new and unexplored class of closed-shell NLO systems generated by the introduction of intermediate CT nature into open-shell singlet systems.

Intramolecular Reactions of Tethered Furan‐Based Bis(p‐quinodimethanes)

Tethered bis‐2,5‐dimethylene‐2,5‐dihydrofurans were generated in the gas phase by flash vacuum pyrolysis (FVP) of diester precursors. These furan‐based bis(p‐quinodimethanes) are shown to undergo reactions leading to macrocycles. The observed products strongly support a mechanism involving cyclic diradical intermediates. Formation of the furan‐based p‐quinodimethane and the corresponding cyclization chemistry was studied by high‐level ab initio calculations. The theoretical studies reveal the importance of the entropy‐driven elimination steps in the high‐temperature FVP chemistry.

Does the Mechanism of the Garratt-Braverman Cyclization Differ with Substrates? A Computational Study on Bispropargyl Sulfones, Sulfides, Ethers, Amines, and Methanes.

We studied the variation in mechanism among different bispropargyl substrates-sulfone, sulfide, ether, amine, and methane-toward Garratt-Braverman (GB) cyclization using density functional theory calculations. Isomerization and cycloaddition are the key steps in the GB cyclization. To compare the reactivity among the various substrates, we computed the free energy of activation (ΔG(⧧)) for the cycloaddition and the cyclization steps, whereas we used the theoretically computed pKa values for the isomerization steps. Our results suggest that the sulfones undergo a relatively fast isomerization followed by slower cyclization, while the ethers undergo a slow isomerization followed by easy cyclization. The methanes and amines are similar to the ethers, and the sulfides showed intermediate behavior. We extended our study to unsymmetrical substrates and compare the results with experiments that suggest the isomerization to be the rate-limiting step for bispropargyl ethers, while cyclization through a diradical intermediate is crucial to the rate for the bispropargyl sulfones. On the basis of these findings, we made predictions on the selectivity of unsymmetrical bispropargyl sulfones, amines, methanes, and sulfides. This is the first detailed mechanistic study on the GB cyclization of bispropargyl substrates other than sulfones.

When To Let Go-Diradical Intermediates from Zwitterionic Transition State Structures?

Several Brummond-Chen thermal intramolecular (2 + 2)-cycloaddition reactions were examined using density functional theory calculations. The results of these calculations indicate that it is possible for these reactions to involve diradical intermediates that form directly from zwitterionic transition state structures. The likelihood of this scenario was shown to be sensitive to both the nature of substituents and solvent polarity.

HOCCO versus OCCO: Comparative spectroscopy of the radical and diradical reactive intermediates.

We present a photoelectron imaging study of three glyoxal derivatives: the ethylenedione anion (OCCO(-)), ethynediolide (HOCCO(-)), and glyoxalide (OHCCO(-)). These anions provide access to the corresponding neutral reactive intermediates: the OCCO diradical and the HOCCO and OHCCO radicals. Contrasting the straightforward deprotonation pathway in the reaction of O(-) with glyoxal (OHCCHO), which is expected to yield glyoxalide (OHCCO(-)), OHCCO(-) is shown to be a minor product, with HOCCO(-) being the dominant observed isomer of the m/z = 57 anion. In the HOCCO/OHCCO anion photoelectron spectrum, we identify several electronic states of this radical system and determine the adiabatic electron affinity of HOCCO as 1.763(6) eV. This result is compared to the corresponding 1.936(8) eV value for ethylenedione (OCCO), reported in our recent study of this transient diradical [A. R. Dixon, T. Xue, and A. Sanov, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 54, 8764-8767 (2015)]. Based on the comparison of the HOCCO(-)/OHCCO(-) and OCCO(-) photoelectron spectra, we discuss the contrasting effects of the hydrogen connected to the carbon framework or the terminal oxygen in OCCO.

The chemistry of thiophene-based bis-(p-quinodimethanes): an approach to macrocycles

Bis-2,5-dimethylene-2,5-dihydrothiophenes have been generated in the gas-phase by flash vacuum pyrolysis (FVP) of diester precursors. These thiophene-based bis-(p-quinodimethanes) are shown to undergo reactions leading to macrocycles. The conversions are consistent with a mechanism involving cyclic diradical intermediates followed by disproportionation of the radical centers.

Diradical reaction mechanisms in [3 + 2]-cycloadditions of hetaryl thioketones with alkyl- or trimethylsilyl-substituted diazomethanes.

Reactions of dihetaryl and aryl/hetaryl thioketones with 2-diazopropane, diazoethane, and (trimethylsilyl)diazomethane were studied at variable temperature. The experiments showed that reactions with 2-diazopropane carried out at –75 °C occur mainly via the initially formed, relatively stable 1,3,4-thiadiazolines as products of the [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of the diazo dipole onto the C=S bond. The latter decompose only at higher temperature (ca. −40 °C) to generate thiocarbonyl S-isopropanide. In the absence of the starting thioketone, the corresponding thiiranes and/or ethene derivatives, formed from them via spontaneous desulfurization, are the main products. In contrast, reactions with diazoethane occurred predominantly via initially formed diradicals, which in cascade processes gave sterically crowded 4,4,5,5-tetrahetaryl-1,3-dithiolanes as major products. Finally, the reaction of dihetaryl thioketones with (trimethylsilyl)diazomethane occur smoothly at −75 °C leading to the corresponding 4,4,5,5-tetrahetaryl-1,3-dithiolanes as the exclusive [3 + 2]-cycloadducts formed via a cascade of postulated diradicals. The presence of S or Se atoms in the hetaryl rings is of importance for stabilizing diradical intermediates. Remarkably, in no single case, the ‘head-to-head dimerization’ of aryl/hetaryl and dihetaryl substituted thiocarbonyl ylides was observed.

Uncatalyzed thermal gas phase aziridination of alkenes by organic azides. Part I: Mechanisms with discrete nitrene species

Alkene aziridination by azides through uncatalyzed thermal gas phase routes has been studied using the DFT B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) method, where the possible role of discrete nitrene intermediates is emphasized. The thermal decomposition of azides is studied using the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ strategy as well. The MP2 (but not the B3LYP) results discount the existence of singlet alkylnitrenes where the alkyl group has an α-hydrogen. Addition of the lowest lying singlet and triplet nitrenes R-N (R = H, Me, Ac) to four different alkene substrates leading to aziridine formation was studied by the B3LYP method. Singlet nitrenes with alkenes can yield aziridines via a concerted mechanism, where H-N insertion takes place without a barrier, whereas Me-N shows larger barriers than Ac-N. Methyl substitution in the alkene favors this reaction. Triplet nitrene addition to alkenes is studied as a two-step process, where the initially formed diradical intermediates cyclize to form aziridines by ISC (intersystem crossing) and collapse. Scope for C-C bond rotation in the diradical leads to loss of stereochemical integrity for triplet nitrene addition to cis- and trans-2-butenes. Geometries of the transition states in the various reaction steps studied here are described as “early” or “late” in good accordance with the Hammond postulate. The addition of free nitrenes to alkene substrates is studied using DFT and MP2 methods. The B3LYP results predict that concerted azide decomposition can yield singlet nitrenes, unlike the MP2 results. Singlet nitrenes insert into alkenes with a modest or no barrier. Triplet nitrenes employ a step-wise pathway to give aziridines.

Bent bonds and the antiperiplanar hypothesis - a simple model to rationalize [1,3]-sigmatropic alkyl shifts.

The bent bond/antiperiplanar (BBA) hypothesis has been applied to the analysis of [1,3]-sigmatropic alkyl shifts. These thermal rearrangements, for which there is evidence that they proceed through diradical intermediates, can be interpreted by considering their transient allyl radical structures. For the thermolysis of cyclic molecules, the preferred generation of pyramidal allyl radicals in staggered conformations is postulated on the basis of the BBA hypothesis. This accounts for the preference of suprafacial rearrangement pathways as well as the extent of inversion or retention of configuration at the migrating carbons.

Investigation into 9(S)-HPODE-derived allene oxide to cyclopentenone cyclization mechanism via diradical oxyallyl intermediates.

The cyclopentane core is ubiquitous among a large number of biologically relevant natural products. Cyclopentenones have been shown to be versatile intermediates for the stereoselective preparation of highly substituted cyclopentane derivatives. Allene oxides are oxygenated fatty acids which are involved in the pathways of cyclopentenone biosynthesis in plants and marine invertebrates; however, their cyclization behavior is not well understood. Recent work by Brash and co-workers (J. Biol. Chem., 2013, 288, 20797) revealed an unusual cyclization property of the 9(S)-HPODE-derived allene oxides: the previously unreported 10Z-isomer cyclizes to a cis-dialkylcyclopentenone in hexane/isopropyl alcohol (100 : 3, v/v), but the known 10E-isomer does not yield cis-cyclopentenone under the same conditions. The mechanism for cyclization has been investigated for unsubstituted and methyl substituted vinyl allene oxide using a variety of methods including CASSCF, ωB97xD, and CCSD(T) and basis sets up to cc-pVTZ. The lowest energy pathway proceeds via homolytic cleavage of the epoxide ring, formation of an oxyallyl diradical, which closes readily to a cyclopropanone intermediate. The cyclopropanone opens to the requisite oxyallyl which closes to the experimentally observed product, cis-cyclopentenone. The calculations show that the open shell, diradical pathway is lower in energy than the closed shell reactions of allene oxide to cyclopropanone, and cyclopropanone to cyclopentenone.

Oxidation triggers extensive conjugation and unusual stabilization of two di-heme dication diradical intermediates: role of bridging group for electronic communication.

MauG is a diheme enzyme that utilizes two covalently bound c-type hemes to catalyse the biosynthesis of the protein-derived cofactor tryptophan tryptophylquinone. The two hemes are physically separated by 14.5 Å and a hole-hopping mechanism is proposed in which a tryptophan residue located between the hemes undergoes reversible oxidation and reduction to increase the effective electronic coupling element and enhance the rate of reversible electron transfer between the hemes in bis-Fe(iv) MauG. The present work describes the structure and spectroscopic investigation of 2e-oxidations of the synthetic diheme analogs in which two heme centers are covalently connected through a conjugated ethylene bridge that leads to the stabilization of two unusual trans conformations (U and P' forms) with different and distinct spectroscopic and geometric features. Unlike in MauG, where the two oxidizing equivalents are distributed within the diheme system giving rise to the bis-Fe(iv) redox state, the synthetic analog stabilizes two ferric hemes, each coupled with a porphyrin cation radical, a scenario resembling the binuclear dication diradical complex. Interestingly, charge resonance-transition phenomena are observed here both in 1e and 2e-oxidised species from the same system, which are also clearly distinguishable by their relative position and intensity. Detailed UV-vis-NIR, X-ray, Mössbauer, EPR and 1H NMR spectroscopic investigations as well as variable temperature magnetic studies have unraveled strong electronic communications between two porphyrin π-cation radicals through the bridging ethylene group. The extensive π-conjugation also allows antiferromagnetic coupling between iron(iii) centers and porphyrin radical spins of both rings. DFT calculations revealed extended π-conjugation and H-bonding interaction as the major factors in controlling the stability of the conformers.

Accounting for Diradical Character through DFT. The Case of Vinyl Allene Oxide Rearrangement.

The transformation of vinyl allene oxides into cyclopentenones is key to the biosynthesis of a number of hormone-like molecules in plants. Two competitive paths are generally accepted for this transformation: a concerted SN2-like mechanism and a stepwise path with a diradical oxyallyl intermediate. Recently, a new stepwise closed-shell path has been proposed that circumvents the key oxyallyl intermediate. In this work, we conduct a thorough computational investigation, including dynamic effects, to identify the most likely mechanism for this transformation.

Theoretical Design of Open-Shell Singlet Molecular Systems for Nonlinear Optics

Design principles toward open-shell singlet molecular systems exhibiting remarkable nonlinear optical (NLO) responses are derived based on a two-site diradical model within the valence configuration interaction scheme. In this scheme, the concept of diradical character (y), a chemical index for bond weakness in the ground state, enables to classify singlet molecular systems into three categories: (i) closed-shell (y = 0), (ii) intermediate diradical (0 < y < 1), and (iii) pure open-shell (y = 1) systems. It is found that the second hyperpolarizabilities (and also the first hyperpolarizabilities for asymmetric systems) are enhanced in the intermediate diradical character region with respect to the other ones. This leads to a new class of open-shell singlet NLO systems, which are expected to outstrip traditional closed-shell NLO systems. On the basis of this principle, practical molecular design guidelines for tuning the diradical characters and, therefore, for achieving large NLO properties are discussed o...

Computational and Experimental Studies of Phthaloyl Peroxide-Mediated Hydroxylation of Arenes Yield a More Reactive Derivative, 4,5-Dichlorophthaloyl Peroxide.

The oxidation of arenes by the reagent phthaloyl peroxide provides a new method for the synthesis of phenols. A new, more reactive arene oxidizing reagent, 4,5-dichlorophthaloyl peroxide, computationally predicted and experimentally determined to possess enhanced reactivity, has expanded the scope of the reaction while maintaining a high level of tolerance for diverse functional groups. The reaction proceeds through a novel "reverse-rebound" mechanism with diradical intermediates. Mechanistic insight was achieved through isolation and characterization of minor byproducts, determination of linear free energy correlations, and computational analysis of substituent effects of arenes, each of which provided additional support for the reaction proceeding through the diradical pathway.

Recent advances of the Bergman cyclization in polymer science

The Bergman cyclization has strongly impacted on a number of fields including pharmaceutics, synthetic chemistry, and material science. The diradical intermediates stemmed from enediynes can not only cause DNA cleavage under physiological conditions but also function as monomer or initiator participants in polymer science. The homo-polymerization of enediynes through the Bergman cyclization to fabricate conjugated polymers is a fascinating strategy due to the advantages of facial operation, high efficiency, tailored structure, and catalyst-free operation. Moreover, conjugated polymers generated through the Bergman cyclization show many remarkable properties, such as excellent thermal stability, good solubility, and processability, which enables these polymers to be further manufactured into carbon-rich materials. Recent times have seen extensive efforts devoted to the application of the Bergman cyclization in polymer science and materials chemistry. A variety of synthetic strategies have been developed to fabricate structurally unique materials via the Bergman cyclization, including the fabrication of rod-like polymers with polyester, dendrimers and chiral imide side chains, functionalization of carbon nanomaterials by surface-grafting conjugated polymers, formation of nanoparticles by intramolecular collapse of single polymer chains, and the construction of carbon nanomembranes with different morphologies. Future developments involving the Bergman cyclization in polymer science, probably by altering the reaction mechanism to precisely control the microstructure of polymeric products, are also proposed in this review article.