On the mechanism of addition of lithium pinacolone enolate to benzaldehyde: Polar or electron transfer?

The carbonyl-carbon kinetic isotope effect (KIE) and the substituent effect were measured for the reaction of lithium pinacolone enolate (CH2=C(OLi)C(CH3)(3)) with benzaldehyde, and the results were compared with those for other lithium reagents such as MeLi, PhLi, and CH2=CHCH2Li. Ab initio MO calculations (HF/6-31+G*) were carried out to estimate the equilibrium IE on the addition to benzaldehyde. A carbonyl addition reaction, in general, proceeds by way of either a polar direct nucleophilic attack (PL) in a one-step or a two-step process going through a radical ion intermediate (eq 1). The carbonyl-carbon KIE is of primary nature for the PL or the RC rate-determining ET mechanism, while it is considered to be secondary for the ET rate-determining mechanism, The reaction of lithium pinacolone enolate with benzaldehyde gave a small positive KIE ((12)k/(13)k = 1.019), which is larger than the theoretical equilibrium IE (K-12/K-13 = 1.006) determined by the MO calculations. Thus, there is a reaction-coordinate contribution to the observed KIE. This is in sharp contrast to the absence of KIE ((12)k/(14)k = 1.000) measured previously for the MeLi addition. Dehalogenation and enone-isomerization probe experiments showed no evidence of a single electron transfer to occur during the course of the reaction. The primary carbonyl-carbon KIE together with the substituent effect and chemical probe experiments led to the conclusion that the reaction of lithium pinacolone enolate with benzaldehyde proceeds via the polar mechanism.