Daniel H. Ess

Theory of 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions: distortion/interaction and frontier molecular orbital models.

Quantum chemical calculations of activation barriers and reaction energies for 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions by the high-accuracy CBS-QB3 method reveal previously unrecognized quantitative trends in activation barriers. The distortion/interaction model of reactivity explains why (1) there is a monotonic decrease of approximately 6 kcal/mol in the activation energy along the series oxides, imine, and ylide for the diazonium, nitrilium, and azomethine betaine classes of 1,3-dipoles; (2) nitrilium and azomethine betaines with the same trio of atoms have almost identical cycloaddition barrier heights; (3) barrier heights for the cycloadditions of a given 1,3-dipole with ethylene and acetylene have the same activation energies (mean absolute deviation of 0.6 kcal/mol) in spite of very different reaction thermodynamics (Delta DeltaH(rxn) range = 14-43 kcal/mol) and frontier molecular orbital (FMO) energy gaps. The energy to distort the 1,3-dipole and dipolarophile to the transition state geometry, rather than FMO interactions or reaction thermodynamics, controls reactivity for cycloadditions of 1,3-dipoles with alkenes or alkynes. A distortion/interaction energy analysis was also carried out on the transition states for the cycloadditions of diazonium dipoles with a set of substituted alkenes (CH2CHX, X = OMe, Me, CO 2Me, Cl, CN) and reveals that FMO interaction energies between the 1,3-dipole and the dipolarophile differentiate reactivity when transition state distortion energies are nearly constant.

Rapid Synthesis of Fused N‐Heterocycles by Transition‐Metal‐Free Electrophilic Amination of Arene CH Bonds

We disclose an efficient and operationally simple protocol for the preparation of fused N-heterocycles starting from readily available 2-nitrobiaryls and PhMgBr under mild conditions. More than two dozen N-heterocycles, including two bioactive natural products, have been synthesized using this method. A stepwise electrophilic aromatic cyclization mechanism was proposed by DFT calculations.

Elusive metal-free primary amination of arylboronic acids: synthetic studies and mechanism by density functional theory.

Herein, we disclose the first metal-free synthesis of primary aromatic amines from arylboronic acids, a reaction that has eluded synthetic chemists for decades. This remarkable transformation affords structurally diverse primary arylamines in good chemical yields, including a variety of halogenated primary anilines that often cannot be prepared via transition-metal-catalyzed amination. The reaction is operationally simple, requires only a slight excess of aminating agent, proceeds under neutral or basic conditions, and, importantly, can be scaled up to provide multigram quantities of primary anilines. Density functional calculations reveal that the most likely mechanism involves a facile 1,2-aryl migration and that the presence of an ortho nitro group in the aminating agent plays a critical role in lowering the free energy barrier of the 1,2-aryl migration step.

Direct stereospecific synthesis of unprotected N-H and N-Me aziridines from olefins.

Unadorned Aziridines Multiple catalytic methods have been developed to make aziridines—strained triangular carbon-nitrogen-carbon rings that function as versatile synthetic intermediates. However, the majority require protection of the nitrogen precursor with a sulfonyl group that is subsequently inconvenient to remove. Jat et al. (p. 61; see the Perspective by Türkmen and Aggarwal) used a hydroxylamine derivative as the nitrogen source together with an established rhodium catalyst to prepare a wide range of unprotected aziridines, with nitrogen bonded simply to hydrogen or a methyl group. A route to triangular carbon-nitrogen rings avoids placement of a hard-to-remove protecting group on the nitrogen precursor. Despite the prevalence of the N-H aziridine motif in bioactive natural products and the clear advantages of this unprotected parent structure over N-protected derivatives as a synthetic building block, no practical methods have emerged for direct synthesis of this compound class from unfunctionalized olefins. Here, we present a mild, versatile method for the direct stereospecific conversion of structurally diverse mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrasubstituted olefins to N-H aziridines using O-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)hydroxylamine (DPH) via homogeneous rhodium catalysis with no external oxidants. This method is operationally simple (i.e., one-pot), scalable, and fast at ambient temperature, furnishing N-H aziridines in good-to-excellent yields. Likewise, N-alkyl aziridines are prepared from N-alkylated DPH derivatives. Quantum-mechanical calculations suggest a plausible Rh-nitrene pathway.

Main-Group Compounds Selectively Oxidize Mixtures of Methane, Ethane, and Propane to Alcohol Esters

Light Alkanes, Heavy Metals Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has rapidly increased the supply of natural gas and has motivated methods to convert its constituents into commodity chemicals. Hashiguchi et al. (p. 1232) have found that lead and thallium salts are both efficient and selective oxidants, not only for methane, but for ethane and propane as well. In trifluoroacetic acid solvent, the alkanes are cleanly oxidized to the trifluoroacetate esters of their respective alcohols and 1,2-diols. Building on earlier discoveries, this work paves the way to developing methods that reduce our dependence on petroleum for industrial feedstocks. Lead and thallium salts are surprisingly selective and efficient oxidants of the constituents of natural gas. Much of the recent research on homogeneous alkane oxidation has focused on the use of transition metal catalysts. Here, we report that the electrophilic main-group cations thallium(III) and lead(IV) stoichiometrically oxidize methane, ethane, and propane, separately or as a one-pot mixture, to corresponding alcohol esters in trifluoroacetic acid solvent. Esters of methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol, isopropanol, and propylene glycol are obtained with greater than 95% selectivity in concentrations up to 1.48 molar within 3 hours at 180°C. Experiment and theory support a mechanism involving electrophilic carbon-hydrogen bond activation to generate metal alkyl intermediates. We posit that the comparatively high reactivity of these d10 main-group cations relative to transition metals stems from facile alkane coordination at vacant sites, enabled by the overall lability of the ligand sphere and the absence of ligand field stabilization energies in systems with filled d-orbitals.

Singlet-Triplet Energy Gaps for Diradicals from Fractional-Spin Density-Functional Theory

Open-shell singlet diradicals are difficult to model accurately within conventional Kohn-Sham (KS) density-functional theory (DFT). These methods are hampered by spin contamination because the KS determinant wave function is neither a pure spin state nor an eigenfunction of the S(2) operator. Here we present a theoretical foray for using single-reference closed-shell ground states to describe diradicals by fractional-spin DFT (FS-DFT). This approach allows direct, self-consistent calculation of electronic properties using the electron density corresponding to the proper spin eigenfunction. The resulting FS-DFT approach is benchmarked against diradical singlet-triplet gaps for atoms and small molecules. We have also applied FS-DFT to the singlet-triplet gaps of hydrocarbon polyacenes.

Aerobic, transition-metal-free, direct, and regiospecific mono-α-arylation of ketones: synthesis and mechanism by DFT calculations.

We disclose a facile, aerobic, transition-metal-free, direct, and regiospecific mono-α-arylation of ketones to yield aryl benzyl and (cyclo)alkyl benzyl ketones with substitution patterns that are currently inaccessible or challenging to prepare using conventional methods. The transformation is operationally simple, scalable, and environmentally friendly. There is no need for pre-functionalization (i.e., α-halogenation or silyl enol ether formation) or the use of specialized arylating agents (i.e., diaryliodonium salts). DFT calculations suggest that the in situ-generated enolate undergoes direct C-C bond formation with the nitroarene followed by regioselective O2-mediated C-H oxidation.

Intermolecular N–H Oxidative Addition of Ammonia, Alkylamines, and Arylamines to a Planar σ3-Phosphorus Compound via an Entropy-Controlled Electrophilic Mechanism

Ammonia, alkyl amines, and aryl amines are found to undergo rapid intermolecular N-H oxidative addition to a planar mononuclear σ(3)-phosphorus compound (1). The pentacoordinate phosphorane products (1·[H][NHR]) are structurally robust, permitting full characterization by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Isothermal titration calorimetry was employed to quantify the enthalpy of the N-H oxidative addition of n-propylamine to 1 ((n)PrNH2 + 1 → 1·[H][NH(n)Pr], ΔHrxn(298) = -10.6 kcal/mol). The kinetics of n-propylamine N-H oxidative addition were monitored by in situ UV absorption spectroscopy and determination of the rate law showed an unusually large molecularity (ν = k[1][(n)PrNH2](3)). Kinetic experiments conducted over the temperature range of 10-70 °C revealed that the reaction rate decreased with increasing temperature. Activation parameters extracted from an Eyring analysis (ΔH(⧧) = -0.8 ± 0.4 kcal/mol, ΔS(⧧) = -72 ± 2 cal/(mol·K)) indicate that the cleavage of strong N-H bonds by 1 is entropy controlled due to a highly ordered, high molecularity transition state. Density functional calculations indicate that a concerted oxidative addition via a classical three-center transition structure is energetically inaccessible. Rather, a stepwise heterolytic pathway is preferred, proceeding by initial amine-assisted N-H heterolysis upon complexation to the electrophilic phosphorus center followed by rate-controlling N → P proton transfer.

Transition-state metal aryl bond stability determines regioselectivity in palladium acetate mediated C-H bond activation of heteroarenes.

Density functional calculations reveal that the stability of developing metal aryl bonds in Pd(II)-acetate C-H activation transition states determines regioselectivity in arene and heteroarene compounds. This kinetic-thermodynamic connection explains the general preference for activation of the strongest C-H bond and provides the possibility for regioselectivity prediction.

Density Functional Steric Analysis of Linear and Branched Alkanes

Branched alkane hydrocarbons are thermodynamically more stable than straight-chain linear alkanes. This thermodynamic stability is also manifest in alkane bond separation energies. To understand the physical differences between branched and linear alkanes, we have utilized a novel density functional theory (DFT) definition of steric energy based on the Weizäcker kinetic energy. Using the M06-2X functional, the total DFT energy was partitioned into a steric energy term (E(s)[ρ]), an electrostatic energy term (E(e)[ρ]), and a fermionic quantum energy term (E(q)[ρ]). This analysis revealed that branched alkanes have less (destabilizing) DFT steric energy than linear alkanes. The lower steric energy of branched alkanes is mitigated by an equal and opposite quantum energy term that contains the Pauli component of the kinetic energy and exchange-correlation energy. Because the steric and quantum energy terms cancel, this leaves the electrostatic energy term that favors alkane branching. Electrostatic effects, combined with correlation energy, explains why branched alkanes are more stable than linear alkanes.