The importance of entropy in stereoselection. Reduction of tert-butylcyclohexanone by lithium aluminum hydride

Hydrosilation of Carbonyl-Containing Substrates Catalyzed by an Electrophilic η-Silane Iridium(III) Complex

Hydrosilation of a variety of ketones and aldehydes using the cationic iridium catalyst, (POCOP)Ir(H)(acetone)(+), 1, (POCOP = 2,6-bis(di-tert-butyl phosphinito)phenyl) is reported. With triethyl silane, all but exceptionally bulky ketones undergo quantitative reactions employing 0.5 mol% catalyst in 20-30 min at 25 °C. Hydrosilation of esters and amides results in over-reduction and cleavage of C-O and C-N bonds, respectively. The diastereoselectivity of hydrosilation of 4-tert-butyl cyclohexanone has been examined using numerous silanes and is highly temperature dependent. Using EtMe(2)SiH, analysis of the ratio of cis:trans hydrosilation products as a function of temperature yields values for ΔΔH(‡) (ΔH(‡) (trans) - ΔH(‡) (cis)) and ΔΔS(‡) (ΔS(‡) (trans) - ΔS(‡)(cis)) of -2.5 kcal/mol and -6.9 e.u., respectively. Mechanistic studies show that the ketone complex, (POCOP)Ir(H)(ketone)(+), is the catalyst resting state and is in equilibrium with low concentration of the silane complex, (POCOP)Ir(H)(HSiR(3))(+). The silane complex transfers R(3)Si(+) to ketone forming the oxocarbenium ion, R(3)SiOCR'(2) (+), which is reduced by the resulting neutral dihydride 3, (POCOP)Ir(H)(2), to yield product R(3)SiOCHR'(2) and (POCOP)IrH(+) which closes the catalytic cycle.

Chiral aldehydes in hydrocarbons: diastereoselective nucleophilic addition, NMR, and CD spectroscopy reveal dynamic solvation effects

Temperature-dependent studies on the diastereoselective nucleophilic addition of n- BuLi to alpha-chiral aldehydes as (S)-O-(t-butyl-dimethylsilyl)lactal, (S)-O-(t-butyl-dimethylsilyl) mandelic aldehyde, and (R)-2-phenylpropanal in n-decane and n-dodecane reveal dynamic solvation phenomena with the presence of inversion temperatures (T(inv)) in the Eyring plots of ln (anti/syn) vs. 1/ T. These dynamic solvent effects were disclosed by temperature-dependent studies of the (13)C NMR, CD, and UV spectra of the starting aldehydes in solution of n-decane and n-dodecane. The concomitant presence of three peculiar temperatures T(CD), T(UV), and T(NMR), whose values are identical and match T(inv), clearly confirms our earlier interpretation of the solvent-dependent nature of T(inv). The inversion temperature, as well as T(CD), T(UV), and T(NMR) represents the interconversion temperature of two different solvation clusters which act as two different supramolecules with different stereoselectivities.

Origin of diastereofacial selectivity in tertiary 2-adamantyl cations

The intrinsic factors governing the diastereofacial selectivity of 2-methyl-5-X-2-adamantyl cations (X = F (I(F)), Si(CH(3))(3) (I(Si))) toward a representative nucleophile, i.e., methanol, have been investigated in the gas phase at 750 Torr and in the 20-80 degrees C temperature range. The kinetic results indicate that CH(3)OH addition to I(F) proceeds through tight transition structures (TS(F)(syn) and TS(F)(anti)) characterized by advanced C-O bonding. The same interactions are much less pronounced in the comparatively loose transition structures involved in the CH(3)OH addition to I(Si) (TS(Si)(syn) and TS(Si)(anti)). The experimental evidence indicates that the activation barriers for the anti addition to I(F) and I(Si) are invariably lower than those for the syn attack. Large adverse entropic factors account for the preferred syn diastereoselectivity observed in the reaction with I(F). Entropy plays a minor role in the much looser transition structures involved in the reaction with I(Si), which instead exhibits a preferred anti diastereoselectivity. Comparison of the above gas-phase results with related theoretical and solution data suggests that the diastereofacial selectivity of I(F) and I(Si) measured in solution arises in part from the differential solvation of the two faces of the pyramidalized ions.