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Allylic strain in an olefin. Allylic strain (also known as A 1,3 strain, 1,3-allylic strain, or A-strain) in organic chemistry is a type of strain energy resulting from the interaction between a substituent on one end of an olefin (a synonym for an alkene) with an allylic substituent on the other end. [1]
The interaction is labeled by the carbon number they come from. A 1,3-diaxial interaction happens between the atoms connected to the first and third carbons. The more interactions the more strain on the molecule and the conformations with the most strain are less likely to be seen.
1,3 Diaxial interactions occur when the non-hydrogen substituent on a cyclohexane occupies the axial position. This axial substituent is in the eclipsed position with the axial substituents on the 3-carbons relative to itself (there will be two such carbons and thus two 1,3 diaxial interactions).
1,3-diaxial strain is another form of strain similar to syn-pentane. In this case, the strain occurs due to steric interactions between a substituent of a cyclohexane ring ('α') and gauche interactions between the alpha substituent and both methylene carbons two bonds away from the substituent in question (hence, 1,3-diaxial interactions).
Conformations with 1,3-diaxial interactions are usually disfavored due to steric congestion and can shift equilibrium to the other chair form (example: 1 C 4 to 4 C 1). The size of the substituents greatly affects this equilibrium. However, intramolecular hydrogen bonding can be an example of a stabilizing 1,3-diaxial interaction.
The 1,3-diaxial interactions of cyclohexane derivatives is a special case of this type of interaction, although there are additional gauche interactions shared between substituents and the ring in that case. A clear example of the syn-pentane interaction is apparent in the diaxial versus diequatorial heats of formation of cis 1
Cyclohexene derivatives, such as imines, epoxides, and halonium ions, react with nucleophiles in a stereoselective fashion, affording trans-diaxial addition products. The term “Trans-diaxial addition” describes the mechanism of the addition, however the products are likely to equilibrate by ring flip to the lower energy conformer, placing the new substituents in the equatorial position.
A methyl group has an A-value of 1.74 while tert-butyl group has an A-value of ~5. Because the A-value of tert -butyl is higher, tert -butyl has a larger steric effect than methyl. This difference in steric effects can be used to help predict reactivity in chemical reactions.