Formation Of Oxocarbenium Ion Research Articles

End-of-life upcycling of polyurethanes using a room temperature, mechanism-based degradation.

A major challenge in developing recyclable polymeric materials is the inherent conflict between the properties required during and after their life span. In particular, materials must be strong and durable when in use, but undergo complete and rapid degradation, ideally under mild conditions, as they approach the end of their life span. We report a mechanism for degrading polymers called cyclization-triggered chain cleavage (CATCH cleavage) that achieves this duality. CATCH cleavage features a simple glycerol-based acyclic acetal unit as a kinetic and thermodynamic trap for gated chain shattering. Thus, an organic acid induces transient chain breaks with oxocarbenium ion formation and subsequent intramolecular cyclization to fully depolymerize the polymer backbone at room temperature. With minimal chemical modification, the resulting degradation products from a polyurethane elastomer can be repurposed into strong adhesives and photochromic coatings, demonstrating the potential for upcycling. The CATCH cleavage strategy for low-energy input breakdown and subsequent upcycling may be generalizable to a broader range of synthetic polymers and their end-of-life waste streams.

Solvent Effects and Mechanistic Studies for Re2O7-Catalyzed Allylative Annulation Reactions.

The sequence of allylic alcohol transposition, carbonyl group trapping, oxocarbenium ion formation, and nucleophilic addition results in the formation of a ring while serving as a fragment-coupling and stereocenter-generating reaction. Successful applications of these processes require a balancing of the kinetics of numerous productive and unproductive steps. This work describes the manner in which solvent changes can be used to expand the scope and change the stereochemical outcomes of these processes. Mechanistic studies provide greater insight into the nuances of the transformations and the reactive species that are generated.

Re2O7-Catalyzed Approach to Spirocyclic Ether Formation from Acyclic Precursors: Observation of Remote Stereoinduction.

Ketones that are flanked by an allylic alcohol and an alkene isomerize to spirocyclic ethers in the presence of Re2O7 through allylic alcohol transposition, oxocarbenium ion formation, and Prins cyclization. These processes provide significant increases in molecular complexity, with multiple stereocenters being set relative to a stereocenter in the substrate. Stereoselectivity arises from the initial reversible steps being more rapid than the final step, thereby allowing for thermodynamically controlled stereochemical equilibration prior to product formation.

Different hybridized oxygen atoms controlled chemoselective formation of oxocarbenium ions: synthesis of chiral heterocyclic compounds.

Based on the electronic properties of different hybridized oxygen atoms (sp3versus sp2) in the structure of O,O-acetals containing an enol ether moiety, the chemoselective formation of oxocarbenium ions was realized to furnish diversified chiral heterocyclic compounds with excellent stereoselectivities by reacting with different types of nucleophiles. Additionally, an unexpected intramolecular oxocarbenium ion transfer was also reported to form polycyclic products containing the O,O-acetal functional group.

Expeditious Synthesis of Enantioenriched Tetrahydropyrans via Chemoselective C−N bond Cleavage of Aza‐Oxa‐Bicyclo[3.2.1]Octanes

AbstractA rapid synthesis of enantioenriched 2,3,4‐trisubstituted tetrahydropyrans in good yields and stereoselectivities is reported. The first step is a domino organocatalytic reaction between ambident electrophilic and 1,4‐bis‐nucleophilic 1,2‐ketoamides and 1,3‐bis‐electrophilic enals, leading to aza‐oxa‐bicyclo[3.2.1]octane. Then, the TiCl4/Et3SiH system ensures a chemoselective cleavage of the C−N bond and affords the desired trisubstituted tetrahydropyran in good yield and with conservation of the precursors optical purity. This final synthetic operation includes two consecutive oxocarbenium ion formation and reductions.magnified image

Direct Formation of Oxocarbenium Ions under Weakly Acidic Conditions: Catalytic Enantioselective Oxa-Pictet-Spengler Reactions.

Two catalysts, an amine HCl salt and a bisthiourea, work in concert to enable the generation of oxocarbenium ions under mild conditions. The amine catalyst generates an iminium ion of sufficient electrophilicity to enable 1,2-attack by an alcohol. Catalyst turnover is achieved by amine elimination with concomitant formation of an oxocarbenium intermediate. The bisthiourea catalyst accelerates all of the steps of the reaction and controls the stereoselectivity via anion binding/ion pair formation. This new concept was applied to direct catalytic enantioselective oxa-Pictet-Spengler reactions of tryptophol with aldehydes.

Acceleration of Acetal Hydrolysis by Remote Alkoxy Groups: Evidence for Electrostatic Effects on the Formation of Oxocarbenium Ions

AbstractIn contrast to observations with carbohydrates, experiments with 4‐alkoxy‐substituted acetals indicate that an alkoxy group can accelerate acetal hydrolysis by up to 20‐fold compared to substrates without an alkoxy group. The acceleration of ionization in more flexible acetals can be up to 200‐fold when compensated for inductive effects.

Acceleration of acetal hydrolysis by remote alkoxy groups: evidence for electrostatic effects on the formation of oxocarbenium ions.

In contrast to observations with carbohydrates, experiments with 4-alkoxy-substituted acetals indicate that an alkoxy group can accelerate acetal hydrolysis by up to 20-fold compared to substrates without an alkoxy group. The acceleration of ionization in more flexible acetals can be up to 200-fold when compensated for inductive effects.

ChemInform Abstract: Heterocycle Synthesis Based on Allylic Alcohol Transposition Using Traceless Trapping Groups.

Allylic alcohols undergo transposition reactions in the presence of Re2O7 whereby the equilibrium can be dictated by trapping one isomer with a pendent electrophile. Additional ionization can occur when the trapping group is an aldehyde or ketone, thus leading to cyclic oxocarbenium ion formation. Terminating the process through bimolecular nucleophilic addition into the intermediate provides a versatile method for the synthesis of diverse oxygen-containing heterocycles. Understanding the relative rates of the steps in the sequence leads to the design of reactions which create multiple stereocenters with good to excellent levels of control.

Heterocycle Synthesis Based on Allylic Alcohol Transposition Using Traceless Trapping Groups

Allylic alcohols undergo transposition reactions in the presence of Re2 O7 whereby the equilibrium can be dictated by trapping one isomer with a pendent electrophile. Additional ionization can occur when the trapping group is an aldehyde or ketone, thus leading to cyclic oxocarbenium ion formation. Terminating the process through bimolecular nucleophilic addition into the intermediate provides a versatile method for the synthesis of diverse oxygen-containing heterocycles. Understanding the relative rates of the steps in the sequence leads to the design of reactions which create multiple stereocenters with good to excellent levels of control.

Heterocycle Synthesis Based on Allylic Alcohol Transposition Using Traceless Trapping Groups

AbstractAllylic alcohols undergo transposition reactions in the presence of Re2O7 whereby the equilibrium can be dictated by trapping one isomer with a pendent electrophile. Additional ionization can occur when the trapping group is an aldehyde or ketone, thus leading to cyclic oxocarbenium ion formation. Terminating the process through bimolecular nucleophilic addition into the intermediate provides a versatile method for the synthesis of diverse oxygen‐containing heterocycles. Understanding the relative rates of the steps in the sequence leads to the design of reactions which create multiple stereocenters with good to excellent levels of control.

Aspects of Glycosidic Bond Formation in Aqueous Solution: Chemical Bonding and the Role of Water

A model of the specific acid-catalyzed glycosidic bond formation in liquid water at ambient conditions is studied based on constrained Car-Parrinello ab initio molecular dynamics. Specifically the reaction of alpha-D-glucopyranose and methanol is found to proceed by a D(N)A(N) mechanism. The D(N) step consists of a concerted protonation of the O(1) hydroxyl leaving group; this process results in the breaking of the C(1)-O(1) bond, and oxocarbenium ion formation involving C(1)=O(5). The second step, A(N), is the formation of the C(1)-O(m) glycosidic bond, deprotonation of the methanol hydroxyl group O(m)H(m), and re-formation of the C(1)-O(5) single bond. A focus of this study is the analysis of the electronic structure during this condensed phase reaction relying on both Boys/Wannier localized orbitals and the electron localization function ELF. This analysis allows the clear elucidation of the chemical bonding features of the intermediate bracketed by the D(N) and A(N) steps, which is a non-solvent equilibrated oxocarbenium cation. Most interestingly, it is found that the oxygen in the pyranose ring becomes "desolvated" upon double bond/oxocarbenium formation, whereas it is engaged in the hydrogen-bonded water network before and after this period. This demonstrates that hydrogen bonding and thus the aqueous solvent play an active role in this reaction implying that microsolvation studies in the gas phase, both theoretical and experimental, might lead to qualitatively different reaction mechanisms compared to solution.

Transition state structure of purine nucleoside phosphorylase and principles of atomic motion in enzymatic catalysis.

Immucillin-H [ImmH; (1S)-1-(9-deazahypoxanthin-9-yl)-1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-D-ribitol] is a 23 pM inhibitor of bovine purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) specifically designed as a transition state mimic [Miles, R. W., Tyler, P. C., Furneaux, R. H., Bagdassarian, C. K., and Schramm, V. L. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 8615-8621]. Cocrystals of PNP and the inhibitor are used to provide structural information for each step through the reaction coordinate of PNP. The X-ray crystal structure of free ImmH was solved at 0.9 A resolution, and a complex of PNP.ImmH.PO(4) was solved at 1.5 A resolution. These structures are compared to previously reported complexes of PNP with substrate and product analogues in the catalytic sites and with the experimentally determined transition state structure. Upon binding, ImmH is distorted to a conformation favoring ribosyl oxocarbenium ion formation. Ribosyl destabilization and transition state stabilization of the ribosyl oxocarbenium ion occur from neighboring group interactions with the phosphate anion and the 5'-hydroxyl of the ribosyl group. Leaving group activation of hypoxanthine involves hydrogen bonds to O6, N1, and N7 of the purine ring. Ordered water molecules provide a proton transfer bridge to O6 and N7 and permit reversible formation of these hydrogen bonds. Contacts between PNP and catalytic site ligands are shorter in the transition state analogue complex of PNP.ImmH.PO(4) than in the Michaelis complexes of PNP.inosine.SO(4) or PNP.hypoxanthine.ribose 1-PO(4). Reaction coordinate motion is dominated by translation of the carbon 1' of ribose between relatively fixed phosphate and purine groups. Purine and pyrimidine phosphoribosyltransferases and nucleoside N-ribosyl hydrolases appear to operate by a similar mechanism.

One-third-the-sites transition-state inhibitors for purine nucleoside phosphorylase.

Genetic defects in human purine nucleoside phosphorylase cause T-cell deficiency as the major phenotype. It has been proposed that efficient inhibitors of the enzyme might intervene in disorders of T-cell function. Compounds with features of the transition-state structure of purine nucleoside phosphorylase were synthesized and tested as inhibitors. The transition-state structure for purine nucleoside phosphorylase is characterized by (1) an elevated pKa at N7 of the purine ring for protonation or favorable H-bond interaction with the enzyme and (2) oxocarbenium ion formation in the ribosyl ring (Kline, P. C., and Schramm, V. L. (1995) Biochemistry 34, 1153-1162). Both features have been incorporated into the stable transition-state analogues, (1S)-1-(9-deazahypoxanthin-9-yl)-1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-D-ribitol (immucillin-H) and (1S)-1-(9-deazaguanin-9-yl)-1,4-dideoxy-1, 4-imino-D-ribitol (immucillin-G). Both inhibitors exhibit slow-onset tight-binding inhibition of calf spleen and human erythrocyte purine nucleoside phosphorylase. The inhibitors exhibit equilibrium dissociation constants (Ki) from 23 to 72 pM and are the most powerful inhibitors reported for the enzyme. Complete inhibition of the homotrimeric enzyme occurs at one mole of inhibitor per mole of enzymic trimer. Binding of the transition-state inhibitor at one site per trimer prevents inhibitor binding at the remaining two sites of the homotrimer. A mechanism of sequential catalysis at each subunit, similar to that of F1 ATPase, is supported by these results. Slow inhibitor dissociation (e.g., t1/2 of 4.8 h) suggests that these compounds will have favorable pharmacologic properties. Interaction of transition-state inhibitors with purine nucleoside phosphorylase is different from reactant-state (substrate and product analogue) inhibitors of the enzyme which bind equally to all subunits of the homotrimer.

Alkane Isomerization over Sulfated Zirconia and Other Solid Acids

Some solid acids, including sulfated zirconia and certain industrial isomerization catalysts, catalyze two types of n-butane isomerizations, avoiding primary carbenium ions or carbonium ions: (1) an internal rearrangement of the C atoms in n-butane and (2) skeletal isomerization of n-butane to iso-butane. No superacid sites are required for these reactions. The skeletal isomerization is an intermolecular reaction, involving a C8 intermediate. Easily accessible Bronsted acid sites and small amounts of olefin are crucial. Spectroscopic examination of the acid sites on sulfated zirconia shows that they are not stronger than the acid sites in zeolites such as HY. The butane isomerization rate is suppressed by CO, even when no CO is adsorbed on Lewis sites; formation of oxocarbenium ions is likely. The decisive role of Bronsted acid sites is demonstrated by results on deuterated catalysts.

Rate–equilibrium relationships based on the CH-acidity constants of oxocarbenium ions, for proton transfer from hydronium ion to α-methoxystyrenes: evidence for perfect synchronization between bond cleavage, bond formation, and positive-charge delocalization

The CH-acidity constants in water for the oxocarbenium ions derived from ring-substituted α-methoxystyrenes have been calculated from the following literature data. (i) Equilibrium constants for oxocarbenium-ion formation from the corresponding acetals; (ii) equilibrium constants for the acetalto-enol ether process in methanol; (iii) Gibbs free energies of transfer of acetals and enol ethers from methanol to water. The plot of the logarithms of hydronium-ion-catalytic rate constants against the pKa values of the intermediate ions exhibits a slightly curved relationship, with a mean slope βs= 0.58, which can be accounted for by the Marcus equation with an intrinsic barrier of ca. 15 kJ mol–1 and work terms Wr= 44 kJ mol–1 and Wp= 52 kJ mol–1. The agreement of all these parameters with those derived when the catalyst is changed indicates that C–H bond formation and O–H bond cleavage are synchronous concerted primitive changes. Separation of substituted-ring polar effects and direct resonance interactions from the overall substituent effects on rates and equilibria also shows that there is perfect synchronization between proton transfer and positive-charge delocalization.