Experimental and theoretical assessment of the mechanism involved in the reaction of steroidal ketone semicarbazone with hydrogen peroxide

Abstract

3β-Acetoxy-5α-cholestan-6-one semicarbazone 1 on reaction with hydrogen peroxide affords selectively 3β-acetoxy-5α-cholestan-6-spiro-1',2',4'-triazolidine-3'-one 2. The structural assignment of the product was confirmed by spectral data and elemental analysis. A free radical mechanism of the present reaction was described successfully by calculating theoretical models of 1, A, B and 2, using DFT with B3LYP/6-31G* basis set. It was found that the reaction undergoes through the formation of two radical intermediates and the only one isomer of the product in which -NH-CO- group is cis with respect C5α-H, was selectively obtained. Frontier molecular orbital, spin electronic density, electrostatic potential and atomic charges were discussed.