Thermal Rearrangements of 2-Ethynylbiphenyl: A DFT Study of Competing Reaction Mechanisms

Mechanistic pathways for high-temperature rearrangements of 2-ethynylbiphenyl have been investigated by calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory, with free energy estimates at 625 °C. Two different routes for high temperature thermal rearrangement can lead to phenanthrene, which was the major product observed by Brown and co-workers (J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun. 1974, 123). 1,2-Hydrogen shift (Hopf type B mechanism) affords a vinylidene which proceeds to the major product by sequential electrocyclic closure and a 1,2-shift, rather than the expected aryl C−H insertion. Alternatively, insertion of the vinylidene into a ring double bond would lead directly to the observed minor product, benzazulene. Along a competitive pathway, electrocyclic closure to an isophenanthrene is predicted to be nearly isoenergetic. This intermediate should have a planar allene structure, with substantial diradical character. Sequential hydrogen shifts lead to phenanthrene but with higher cumulative barriers than for the vinylidene route. Calculation of 625 °C free energies shows that the carbene mechanism is of lower energy, primarily because of the lower entropic cost. Predictions are made for the unusually facile hydrogen atom dissociation from isoaromatics at high temperature, a consequence of aryl radical formation. Isophenanthrene, isobenzene (1,2,4-cyclohexatriene) and several isonaphthalenes are also predicted to have unusually low C−H bond dissociation energies. Potential significance as a source of aryl radicals in high temperature and combustion chemistry is discussed.