The T(1) (3)(pi-pi*)/S(0) intersections and triplet lifetimes of cyclic alpha,beta-enones.

The ground and triplet excited states of cycloheptenone, cyclohexenone, and cyclopentenone have been studied using CASSCF calculations. For these three molecules, the difference in energy (DeltaE) between the twisted T(1) (3)(pi-pi*) minimum and T(1) (3)(pi-pi*)/S(0) intersection increases as the flexibility of the ring decreases. A strong positive correlation between DeltaE and the natural logarithm of the experimentally determined triplet lifetimes (ln tau) is found, suggesting that DeltaE predominantly determines the relative radiationless decay rates of T(1).

On the Z-E photoisomerization of chiral 2-pentenoate esters: stationary irradiations, laser-flash photolysis studies, and theoretical calculations.

Chiral pentenoates 1-3 in both Z and E isomeric forms underwent stationary irradiations in several solvents and in the presence of different photosensitizers. The photostationary-state ratio has been determined for each Z/E couple showing a predominance of the thermodynamically more stable isomer for 1 and 3. Moreover, transient species were generated by pulsed laser excitation and detected by their characteristic ultraviolet absorptions, being the first time that enoate-originated triplets are detected. Stern-Volmer quenching studies afforded a quantitative measure for the efficiency of the photosensitization processes induced by benzophenone or acetophenone and allowed the determination of the corresponding quenching rate constants. Density functional calculations permitted the determination of the geometries and the energies of the diastereomeric excited states. Two diastereomeric orthogonal and two diastereomeric planar structures result as a consequence of the presence of a chiral substituent. The orthogonal triplets are the energy minima in all cases, whereas the planar triplets are the transition states linking these orthogonal structures, the corresponding energy barriers being 8-10 kcal mol(-1) for enoates 1-3. The computed S(0) to T(1) excitation energies show a trend which is consistent with the quenching rate constants. On the other hand, the triplet lifetimes determined for 1 and 2 are unusually long (1-20 micros) if compared with the data already described for several enones, in the range of nanoseconds. This fact has been rationalized from calculations of spin-orbit coupling at several points of the T(1) potential energy surface. This coupling is maximum for structures with a torsional angle close to 45 degrees, which are 4-5 kcal mol(-1) above the minima of T(1). Calculations done on the hypothetical aldehyde 4 and methyl vinyl ketone show much lower energy barriers, thus accounting for the shorter lifetimes reported for enone triplets.

Divergent routes to chiral cyclobutane synthons from (-)-alpha-pinene and their use in the stereoselective synthesis of dehydro amino acids.

Several polyfunctionalized cyclobutane derivatives have been synthesized using commercial (-)-alpha-pinene and (-)-verbenone as chiral precursors. Thus, oxidative cleavage of these compounds by using ruthenium trichloride afforded quantitatively (-)-cis-pinonic and (-)-cis-pinononic acids, respectively, without epimerization. These products were converted into several types of aldehydes, which are the key intermediates in the synthesis of cyclobutane dehydro amino acids via Wittig-Horner condensations with suitable phosphonates. These reactions are highly stereoselective, affording exclusively (Z) isomers, stereochemistry being assessed by NMR experiments. The obtained dehydro amino acids are polyfunctionalized molecules useful for the synthesis of other alpha-amino acids, with additional chiral centers, whose configuration must be induced by the chirality of the terpene employed as a precursor.