Kinetic and Product Studies on the Side-Chain Fragmentation of 1-Arylalkanol Radical Cations in Aqueous Solution: Oxygen versus Carbon Acidity
作者:Enrico Baciocchi、Massimo Bietti、Steen Steenken
DOI:10.1002/(sici)1521-3765(19990604)5:6<1785::aid-chem1785>3.0.co;2-0
日期:1999.6.4
A kinetic and product study of the side-chain fragmentation reactions of a series of 1-arylalkanol radical cations (4-MeOC6H4CH(OH)R.+) and some of their methyl ethers was carried out; the radical cations were generated by pulse radiolysis and gamma radiolysis in aqueous solution. The radical cations undergo side-chain fragmentation involving the C-alpha-H andior C-alpha-C-beta bonds, and their reactivity was studied both in acidic (pH14) and basic (pH 10-11) solution. At pH 4, the radical cations decay with first-order kinetics, and the exclusive reaction is C-alpha-H deprotonation for 1(.+) 2(.+), and 3(.+) (R = H, Me, and Et, respectively) but C-alpha-C-beta bond cleavage for 5(.+)-, 6(.+), and 7(.+) (R = tBu, CH(OH)Me, and CH(OMe)Me, respectively). Both types of cleavage are observed for 4(.+) (R = iPr). The radical cations of the methyl ethers 8(.+), 9(.+), and 10(.+) (R = H, Et, and iPr, respectively) undergo exclusive deprotonation, whereas C-C fragmentation predominates for 11(.+) (R = tBu). Large C-alpha deuterium kinetic isotope effects (4.5 and 5.0, respectively) were found for 1(.+) and its methyl ether 8(.+). Replacement of an alpha-OH group by OMe has a very small effect on the decay rate when the radical cation undergoes deprotonation, but a very large, negative effect in the case of C-C bond cleavage. It is suggested that hydrogen bonding of the alpha-OH group with the solvent stabilizes the transition state of the C-C bond fragmentation reaction but not that of the deprotonation process; however, other factors could also contribute to this phenomenon. The decay of the radical cations is strongly accelerated by HO-, and all the alpha-OH substituted radical cations react with HO- at a rate (approximate to 10(10) M-1 s(-1)) very close to the limit of diffusion control and independent of the nature of the bond that is finally broken in the process (C-H or C-C). The methyl ether 8(.+), which exclusively undergoes C-H bond cleavage, reacts significantly slower (by a factor of ca. 50) than the corresponding alcohol 1(.+). These data indicate that 1-arylalkanol radical cations, which display the expected carbon acidity in water, become oxygen acids in the presence of a strong base such as HO- and undergo deprotonation of the O-H group; diffusion-controlled formation of the encounter complex between HO- and the radical cation is the rate-determining step of the reaction. It is suggested that, within the complex, the proton is transferred to the base to give a benzyloxyl radical, either via a radical zwitterion (which undergoes intramolecular electron transfer) or directly (electron transfer coupled with deprotonation). The latter possibility seems more in line with the general base catalysis (beta approximate to 0.4) observed in the reaction of 5(.+), which certainly involves O-H deprotonation. The benzyloxyl radical can then undergo a beta C-C bond cleavage to form 4-methoxybenzaldehyde and R-. or a formal 1,2-H shift to form an alpha-hydroxybenzyl-type radical. The factors of importance in this carbon/oxygen acidity dichotomy are discussed.