Global Kinetics and Spectral Modeling of p-Methoxyphenyl Azide Photooxidation.

The kinetics of photooxidation of para-methoxyphenyl azide 1 was studied by flash photolysis with spectrophotometric detection of the absorption of active intermediates in an aerated acetonitrile solution at 295 K. The holistic set of experimental data including the consumption of cis-trans isomers of para-methoxyphenyl nitroso oxide 2 and the accumulation of photooxidation products (2Z,4E)-4-methoxy-6-oxo-hexa-2,4-diene-nitrile oxide 3 and bis-p-methoxy-azobenzene 4 monitored via the changes in the optical density of the solution in the wavelength range of 300-500 nm was treated to obtain the most complete information about the system under study. Flash photolysis of 1 results in the formation of the corresponding triplet nitrene, which either recombines to azobenzene 4 with a rate constant 2k4 = (8.7 ± 1.0) × 108 L/(mol s), or adds molecular oxygen to produce cis-trans isomers of nitroso oxide 2 with a total rate constant k5 = (1.0 ± 0.1) × 106 L/(mol s). The latter reaction is the main channel for nitrene consumption: the yield of 2 per consumed nitrene was found to be 90% higher at the cis/trans isomers ratio of 0.94 ± 0.04. The trans-isomer of 2 is chemically inert under the experimental conditions and is consumed in the trans-cis conformational transformation with the rate constant k6 = 0.45 c-1. The cis-isomer is thermodynamically more stable, k-6 = 0.16 c-1, but it is consumed irreversibly in the ortho-cyclization reaction with the rate constant k7 = 12.5 c-1. The final product, nitrile oxide 3, has intense absorption in the near UV region, λmax = 300 nm and εmax = 2 × 104 L/(mol·cm). This made it possible to determine the spectral characteristics of 2 isomers using nonlinear regression analysis. It was found λmax = 421 nm, εmax = (1.23 ± 0.07) × 104 L/(mol·cm), and δ = 1640 ± 10 cm-1 (half width at half maximum) for cis-2 and λmax = 462 nm, εmax = (1.57 ± 0.03) × 104 L/(mol·cm), and δ = 2150 ± 10 cm-1 for trans-2. The obtained spectral parameters are in good agreement with the results of optical spectra modeling for 2 isomers performed in the CIS(D,Full)/aug-cc-PVTZ//CASSCF(14,13)/ma-def2-TZVPP approximation: the calc-exp deviation for the absorption maximum was 0.05 eV (cis) and 0.12 eV (trans), the oscillator strengths were calculated to be 0.59 and 0.65, respectively.

Ortho-Cyclization in Asymmetrically Substituted Arylnitroso Oxides.

The mechanism of the photooxidation of a number of asymmetrically substituted phenyl azides in acetonitrile was studied. The key intermediates of this reaction are the corresponding nitroso oxides, the unimolecular consumption of which occurs via the cis form when the terminal oxygen atom of the NOO moiety reacts with the ortho position of the aromatic ring. As a result, it is opened to form a nitrile oxide. In the case of 3-methylphenyl azide, the reaction proceeds via the cis/syn form of nitroso oxide with a regioselectivity of 91%. The methoxy substituent at the para position changes the direction of the ortho-cyclization so that it occurs via the cis/anti form of nitroso oxide independently on the nature of a meta substituent. Nitrile oxides, which are formed as a result of these transformations of nitroso oxides, are stabilized by [3 + 2] cycloaddition with acetonitrile to give 1,2,4-oxadiazoles. The observed regioselectivity of the ortho-cyclization of nitroso oxides was explained using theoretical methods. Its cause consists in the extra-stabilization of the transition state of the reaction of the cis/anti form due to a stereoelectronic effect of the para-methoxy substituent.

Interplay of Conformational and Chemical Transformations of Ortho-Substituted Aromatic Nitroso Oxides: Experimental and Theoretical Study.

The mechanism of the photooxidation of aromatic azides containing a substituent at one of the ortho positions (2,4-dimethoxyphenyl azide (1a) and 2-methyl-4-[(2E)-1-methylbut-2-en-1-yl]phenyl azide (1b)) was studied in acetonitrile. The electronic spectra and the kinetic regularities of the consumption of corresponding nitroso oxides, which are the reaction intermediates, were investigated by flash photolysis. Owing to the one-and-a-half order of the C-N and N-O bonds and asymmetric molecule structure these nitroso oxides exist as four conformers (cis/syn, cis/anti, trans/syn, and trans/anti). The conformers differ in the spectral properties and in the reactivity in various irreversible transformations. The only product, (2Z,4E)-4-methoxy-6-oxohepta-2,4-dienenitrile oxide (7a), was observed during photooxidation of 1a, whereas transformations of the nitroso oxide isomers derived from 1b led to a set of stable products: the cis/anti isomer was transformed into (3,4,7-trimethyl-3a,4-dihydro-2,1-benzisoxazol-5(3H)-ylidene)ethanal (10), the trans isomers recombined forming the corresponding nitro and nitroso compounds, and the most reactive cis/syn isomer was transformed into ortho-nitrosobenzyl alcohol 11. The last was oxidized slowly to the corresponding benzaldehyde 12. Interaction of 11 and 12 led to the formation of (Z)-1,2-bis(2-formyl-4-((2E)-1-methylbut-2-en-1-yl)phenyl)diazene-1-oxide (13). The DFT simulation and kinetic modeling of the nitroso oxide transformations as well as the product analysis allowed revealing the fine details of the mechanism of decay for these species.

Thermal intramolecular transformation of key intermediates in the photooxidation of para-allyl-substituted phenyl azide.

The electronic spectra, kinetic regularities, and the mechanism of decay of the cis and trans isomeric forms of 4-[(2E)-1-methylbut-2-en-1-yl]phenylnitroso oxide (2) were studied by flash photolysis and product analysis. The mechanism of the consumption of this nitroso oxide is the same as the one proposed earlier for 4-methoxyphenylnitroso oxide. The trans-2 isomer is converted into cis-2, which undergoes cyclization to the substituted benzo[d][1,2,3]dioxazole 3. The reopening of the dioxazole ring yields nitrile oxide 4. The final product (3,4-dimethyl-3a,4-dihydro-2,1-benzisoxazol-5(3H)-ylidene)acetaldehyde (5) is formed by the intramolecular [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of the nitrile oxide group of 4 to the allylic double bond. To support the proposed mechanism, the quantum chemical calculations have been employed.