Nitroxyl radical addition to pentafulvenones forming cyclopentadienyl radicals: A test for cyclopentadienyl radical destabilization

Photochemical Wolff rearrangements in alkane solvents of the 6-diazo-2,4-cyclohexadienones 4 and 13-15 give pentafulvenone (1), 2,3-benzopentafulvenone (2), dibenzopentafulvenone (3), and 2,4-di-tert-butylpentafulvenone (16), as identified by conventional UV and IR spectroscopy. Reactions of these fulvenyl ketenes with tetramethylpiperidinyloxyl (TEMPO) proceed by addition of TEMPO to the carbonyl carbon forming delocalized radicals for 1 and 2 which add one or more further TEMPO molecules, while the initial radical products formed from 3 and 16 dimerize. The rate constants of these reactions compared to hydration rate constants for the same compounds show the benzannulated derivatives 2 and 3 fit a previous correlation k(2)(TEMPO) vs k(H2O), whereas for 1 and 16 there is evidence for inhibition of reactions with radicals. The deviations are consistent with an absence of aromatic stabilization of the cyclopentadienyl radicals from 1 and 16 that is compensated in the benzannulated derivatives.