title: Reversible and irreversible higher-order cycloaddition reactions of polyolefins with a multiple-bonded heavier group 13 alkene analogue: contrasting the behavior of systems with π-π, π-π*, and π-n+ frontier molecular orbital symmetry.
abstract: The heavier group 13 element alkene analogue, digallene Ar(iPr(4))GaGaAr(iPr(4)) (1) [Ar(iPr(4)) = C(6)H(3)-2,6-(C(6)H(3)-2,6-(i)Pr(2))(2)], has been shown to react readily in [n + 2] (n = 6, 4, 2 + 2) cycloaddition reactions with norbornadiene and quadricyclane, 1,3,5,7-cyclooctatetraene, 1,3-cyclopentadiene, and 1,3,5-cycloheptatriene to afford the heavier element deltacyclane species Ar(iPr(4))Ga(C(7)H(8))GaAr(iPr(4)) (2), pseudoinverse sandwiches Ar(iPr(4))Ga(C(8)H(8))GaAr(iPr(4)) (3, 3(iso)), and polycyclic compounds Ar(iPr(4))Ga(C(5)H(6))GaAr(iPr(4)) (4) and Ar(iPr(4))Ga(C(7)H(8))GaAr(iPr(4)) (5, 5(iso)), respectively, under ambient conditions. These reactions are facile and may be contrasted with other all-carbon versions, which require transition-metal catalysis or forcing conditions (temperature, pressure), or with the reactions of the corresponding heavier group 14 species Ar(iPr(4))EEAr(iPr(4)) (E = Ge, Sn), which give very different product structures. We discuss several mechanistic possibilities, including radical- and non-radical-mediated cyclization pathways. These mechanisms are consistent with the improved energetic accessibility of the LUMO of the heavier group 13 element multiple bond in comparison with that of a simple alkene or alkyne. We show that the calculated frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) of Ar(iPr(4))GaGaAr(iPr(4)) are of π-π symmetry, allowing this molecule to engage in a wider range of reactions than permitted by the usual π-π* FMOs of C-C π bonds or the π-n(+) FMOs of heavier group 14 alkyne analogues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Christine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Caputo
authors.forename: Jing-Dong
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagase
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Fettinger
authors.forename: Philip P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Power