Spin-Spin Coupling Controls the Gas-Phase Reactivity of Aromatic σ-Type Triradicals

Examination of the reactions of σ-type quinolinium-based triradicals with cyclohexane in the gas phase demonstrated that the radical site that is the least strongly coupled to the other two radical sites reacts first, independent of the intrinsic reactivity of this radical site, in contrast to related biradicals that first react at the most electron-deficient radical site. Abstraction of one or two H atoms and formation of an ion that formally corresponds to a combination of the ion and cyclohexane accompanied by elimination of a H atom ("addition-H") were observed. In all cases except one, the most reactive radical site of the triradicals is intrinsically less reactive than the other two radical sites. The product complex of the first H atom abstraction either dissociates to give the H-atom-abstraction product and the cyclohexyl radical or the more reactive radical site in the produced biradical abstracts a H atom from the cyclohexyl radical. The monoradical product sometimes adds to cyclohexene followed by elimination of a H atom, generating the "addition-H" products. Similar reaction efficiencies were measured for three of the triradicals as for relevant monoradicals. Surprisingly, the remaining three triradicals (all containing a meta-pyridyne moiety) reacted substantially faster than the relevant monoradicals. This is likely due to the exothermic generation of a meta-pyridyne analog that has enough energy to attain the dehydrocarbon atom separation common for H-atom-abstraction transition states of protonated meta-pyridynes.

Effects of the Distance between Radical Sites on the Reactivities of Aromatic Biradicals

Coupling of the radical sites in isomeric benzynes is known to hinder their radical reactivity. In order to determine how far apart the radical sites must be for them not to interact, the gas-phase reactivity of several isomeric protonated (iso)quinoline- and acridine-based biradicals was examined. All the (iso)quinolinium-based biradicals were found to react slower than the related monoradicals with similar vertical electron affinities (i.e., similar polar effects). In sharp contrast, the acridinium-based biradicals, most with the radical sites farther apart than in the (iso)quinolinium-based systems, showed greater reactivities than the relevant monoradicals with similar vertical electron affinities. The greater distances between the two radical sites in these biradicals lead to very little or no spin-spin coupling, and no suppression of radical reactivity was observed. Therefore, the radical sites can still interact if they are located on adjacent benzene rings and only after being separated further than that does no coupling occur. The most reactive radical site of each biradical was experimentally determined to be the one predicted to be more reactive based on the monoradical reactivity data. Therefore, the calculated vertical electron affinities of relevant monoradicals can be used to predict which radical site is most reactive in the biradicals.

Quinoline Triradicals: A Reactivity Study

The gas-phase reactivities of several protonated quinoline-based σ-type (carbon-centered) mono-, bi-, and triradicals toward dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) were studied by using a linear quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer. The mono- and biradicals produce abundant thiomethyl abstraction products and small amounts of DMDS radical cation, as expected. Surprisingly, all triradicals produce very abundant DMDS radical cations. A single-step mechanism involving electron transfer from DMDS to the triradicals is highly unlikely because the (experimental) adiabatic ionization energy of DMDS is almost 3 eV greater than the (calculated) adiabatic electron affinities of the triradicals. The unexpected reactivity can be explained based on an unprecedented two-step mechanism wherein the protonated triradical first transfers a proton to DMDS, which is then followed by hydrogen atom abstraction from the protonated sulfur atom in DMDS by the radical site in the benzene ring of the deprotonated triradical to generate the conventional DMDS radical cation and a neutral biradical. Quantum chemical calculations as well as examination of deuterated and methylated triradicals provide support for this mechanism. The proton affinities of the neutral triradicals (and DMDS) influence the first step of the reaction while the vertical electron affinities and spin-spin coupling of the neutral triradicals influence the second step. The calculated total reaction exothermicities for the triradicals studied range from 27.6 up to 29.9 kcal mol^-1.

Effects of hydrogen bonding on the gas-phase reactivity of didehydroisoquinolinium cation isomers

Two previously unreported isomeric biradicals with a 1,4-radical topology, the 1,5-didehydroisoquinolinium cation and the 4,8-didehydroisoquinolinium cation, and an additional, previously reported isomer, the 4,5-didehydroisoquinolinium cation, were studied to examine the importance of the exact location of the radical sites on their reactivities in the gas phase. The experimental results suggest that hydrogen bonding in the transition state enhances the reactivity of the 1,5-didehydroisoquinolinium cation towards tetrahydrofuran but not towards allyl iodide, dimethyl disulfide or tert-butyl isocyanide. The observation of no such enhancement of reactivity towards tetrahydrofuran for the 4,8-didehydroisoquinolinium and 4,5-didehydroisoquinolinium cations supports this hypothesis as these two biradicals are not able to engage in hydrogen bonding in their transition states for hydrogen atom abstraction from tetrahydrofuran. Quantum chemical transition state calculations indicate that abstraction of a hydrogen atom from tetrahydrofuran by the 1,5-didehydroisoquinolinium cation occurs at the C-1 radical site and that the transition state is stabilized by hydrogen bonding.