A DFT study of the Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between hindered thiocarbonyl ylides and tetracyanoethylene

The mechanism for the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between the hindered thiocarbonyl ylide 1 and tetracyanoethylene 2 has been studied at the B3LYP/6-31 G* level. Formation of the [3+2] cycloadduct 4 takes place through a stepwise mechanism that is initiated by the nucleophilic attack of the thiocarbonyl ylide I to the ethylene derivative 2 to give a zwitterionic intermediate IN. The subsequent cyclization of IN yields a seven-membered cyclic ketene imine 6, which equilibrates with the thermodynamically more stable [3+2] cycloadduct 4. The computed free energies are in agreement with the experimental outcomes. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.