作者:Gary W. Breton、John H. Shugart
DOI:10.1021/jo0351926
日期:2003.10.1
A homologous series of tricyclic diazetines (6a-c), differing by the number of methylene groups in the saturated bridges of the fused carbon bicycles, was synthesized. The DeltaH(not equal) of decomposition for each of the diazetines to afford N-2 and the corresponding alkene was determined experimentally: 6a, 31.7; 6b, 39.3; 6c, 38.8 kcal/mol. The ground-state strain energy of each diazetine was estimated utilizing computationally obtained DeltaH(f)'s for each of the experimentally investigated diazetines as well as several other diazetines whose DeltaHs(not equal,) had been previously reported in the literature. The sum of the ground-state strain energies and DeltaHs(not equal,) of decomposition for all of the diazetines was nearly constant, with an average value of 59 kcal/mol, suggesting that all of the diazetines decompose via the same mechanism. Generally, the higher the ground-state strain energy of the diazetine, the less the DeltaH(not equal) for decomposition. The decomposition transition states for 6a-c and 7 were modeled computationally at the RB3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p)//UB3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level. The agreement of the experimentally determined DeltaH(not equal) values with transition-state energies obtained computationally supports the reaction mechanism originally proposed by Yamabe that the elimination process occurs by an unsymmetrical, yet concerted, transition state with strong biradical character.