The Reaction of o-Benzyne with Vinylacetylene: An Unexplored Way to Produce Naphthalene

Herein, the mechanisms and kinetics of the reaction of ortho-benzyne with vinylactylene have been studied by ab initio and density functional CCSD(T)-F12/cc-pVTZ-f12//B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) calculations of the pertinent potential energy surface combined with Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus - Master Equation calculations of reaction rate constants at various temperatures and pressures. Under prevailing combustion conditions, the reaction has been shown to predominantly proceed by the biradical acetylenic mechanism initiated by the addition of C4H4 to one of the C atoms of the triple bond in ortho-benzyne by the acetylenic end, with a significant contribution of the concerted addition mechanism. Following the initial reaction steps, an extra six-membered ring is produced and the rearrangement of H atoms in this new ring leads to the formation of naphthalene, which can further dissociate to 1- or 2-naphthyl radicals. The o-C6H4 + C4H4 reaction is highly exothermic, by ~143 kcal/mol to form naphthalene and by 31-32 kcal/mol to produce naphthyl radicals + H, but features relatively high entrance barriers of 9-11 kcal/mol. Although the reaction is rather slow, much slower than the reaction of phenyl radical with vinylacetylene, it forms naphthalene and 1- and 2-naphthyl radicals directly, with their relative yields controlled by the temperature and pressure, and thus represents a viable source of the naphthalene core under conditions where ortho-benzyne and vinylacetylene are available.