The diastereofacial selectivity of 2-methyl-5-X-adamant-2-yl cations IX (X = CN, Cl, Br, CH3O, COOCH3, C6H5, CH3, and (CH3)3Sn) toward methanol has been investigated in the gas phase at 750 Torr and in the 40-120 degrees C temperature range and compared with that of IF (X = F) and ISi (X = (CH3)3Si) measured previously under similar conditions. Detailed analysis of the energy surface of the IMe (X = CH3) ion reveals that the activation barrier of its syn addition to methanol is significantly lower than that of the anti attack. In the 40-100 degrees C range, such a difference is strongly reduced by adverse entropic factors which are large enough to invert the IMe diastereoselectivity from syn to anti at T > 69 degrees C. The behavior of IMe diverges markedly from that of IF and ISi. Large adverse entropic factors account for the predominant syn diastereoselectivity observed in the reaction with IF (X = F), notwithstanding the anti enthalpy barrier is lower than the syn one. Adverse entropy plays a minor role in the reaction with ISi (X = (CH3)3Si) which instead exhibits a preferred anti diastereoselectivity governed by the activation enthalpies. Depending on the electronic properties of X, the kinetic behavior of the other IX ions obeys one of the above models. The gas-phase diastereoselectivity of IX ions responds to a subtle interplay between the sigma-hyperconjugative/electrostatic effects of the X substituent and the activation entropy terms. sigma-Hyperconjugation/field effects determine the pyramidal structure and the relative stability of the syn and anti conformers of IX as well as the relative stability of their addition transition structures and their position along the reaction coordinate. The diastereoselectivity of IX in the gas phase is compared with that measured in solution and with theoretical predictions.
Copyright 2004 American Chemical Society