A theoretical conformational study on the structural parameters involved in the ring strain of exo-unsaturated four-membered heterocycles, Y = CCH₂CH₂X

ABSTRACT

The effect of ring-puckering angle on the structural parameters (bond lengths and angles) involved in the ring strain of a series of four-membered heterocycles (1–16) was theoretically demonstrated by using the ab initio methods MP2 and HF, and the DFT methods PBE1PBE, B3LYP, SVWN5 with 6-31+G(d,p) as basis set. The results revealed that the bonds within the ring (C–X and C–C) are the most sensitive to puckering angle changes. The variation of the C–X and C=Y bond lengths as function of puckering angle are determined by a balance between the 1,3 repulsive interactions and the electronic nature of the heteroatoms X and Y. Particularly, for azetidines and phosphetanes, the C–X and C=Y bond lengths exhibit a major increase at axial conformations. In general, the C–C bond length decreases with the puckering angle for all heterocycles. While the heteroatom–H bonds (in the ring skeleton) are very sensitive to geometric changes, exhibiting an increasing behaviour for equatorial conformations and a decreasing behaviour for axial conformations highly puckered (ϕ > −20°). The C–X–C angle decreases monotonically with the puckering angle, increasing the Baeyer strain on the studied molecules. Finally, all methods predicted a similar behaviour for the studied parameters as function of the puckering angle, although some smaller differences in the predictions of their respective values, especially at HF level, were observed.

KEYWORDS:

• Heterocycles
• puckered conformation
• bond length
• ring-puckering angle
• ring strain

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Centro de Computación (Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas) and Evangelina Cordero for providing the computers used for this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.