An ab initio study of substituent effects in [1,3]-hydrogen shifts

Reports in the literature place the TS for the [1,3]-H shift in propene comparable to or higher in energy than loss of the allylic H. However, [1,3]-H shifts have been repeatedly observed experimentally in enolates. We used GAUSSIAN 98 to examine the origin of this apparent contradiction. We found the first TS for an antarafacial [1,3]-H shift that is clearly lower in energy than simple dissociation of the migrating H. This occurs in the [1,3]-H shift in the acetone enolate. Symmetrical substituents (H, O(-), ethynyl) have TSs with C(2) symmetry, implying that they, and probably most [1,3]-H shift TSs, are antarafacial. Conjugating substituents at C2 lower the energy of [1,3]-H shifts and raise the energy of dissociation by loss of a hydrogen atom from C3, increasing the likelihood of the former type of reaction. Strongly electron-donating and electron-withdrawing substituents are more effective than neutral substituents in lowering the energy requirement of [1,3] shifts. Our best calculations predict that a [1,3]-H shift is lower in energy than dissociation by loss of the H by 27.8 kJ/mol in 2-methyl-1-butene-3-yne, by 36.8 kJ/mol in isoprene, by 55.9 kJ/mol in 2-aminopropene, by 114.5 kJ/mol in the acetone enolate, and by 120.8 kJ/mol in the 1-methylacryloyl cation. Thus, there is a chance of experimental observation of [1,3] shifts in conjugated alkenes and related species.