alpha-Nitration of ketones via enol silyl ethers. Radical cations as reactive intermediates in thermal and photochemical processes

Highly colored (red) solutions of various enol silyl ethers and tetranitromethane (TNM) are readily bleached to afford good yields of alpha-nitro ketones in the dark at room temperature or below. Spectral analysis show the red colors to be associated with the intermolecular 1:1 electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complexes between the enol silyl ether and TNM. The formation of similar vividly colored EDA complexes with other electron accepters (such as chloranil, tetracyanobenzene, tetracyanoquinodimethane, etc.) readily establish enol silyl ethers to be excellent electron donors. The deliberate irradiation of the diagnostic (red) charge-transfer absorption bands of the EDA complexes of enol silyl ethers and TNM at -40 degrees C affords directly the same a-nitro ketones, under conditions in which the thermal reaction is too slow to compete. A common pathway is discussed in which the electron transfer from the enol silyl ether (ESE) to TNM results in the radical ion triad [ESE(.+), NO2., C(NO2)(3)(-)]. A subsequent fast homolytic coupling of the cation radical of the enol silyl ether with NO2. leads to the alpha-nitro ketones. The use of time-resolved spectroscopy and the disparate behavior of the isomeric enol silyl ethers of alpha- and beta-tetralones as well as of 2-methylcyclohexanone strongly support cation radicals (ESE(.+)) as the critical intermediate in thermal and photoinduced electron-transfer as described in Schemes 1 and 2, respectively.