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Alumina-Catalyzed Cope Rearrangement, Paul Jhy-Shing Wang

Dissertations and Theses

The alumina-catalyzed Cope rearrangements of meso- and dl-3,4-diphenylhexa-1,5-diene were examined in detail, following up a preliminary observation by H. Berg at Portland State University. Commercial column-chromatography grade alumina was employed, and was further activated before use by heating at 650-700° for four hours.

Using a ratio of 20 mg of dl-3,4-diphenylhex-l,5-diene to 1 g of alumina in heptane, the Cope rearrangement was complete within 15 minutes at room temperature to give exclusively trans,trans-1,6-diphenylhexa-1,5-diene. This was identified.by melting point, infrared spectroscopy and vapor phase chromatography.

The catalyzed rearrangement of meso-3,4-diphenylhexa-l,5-diene was run using the same diene …

Kinetics Of The Cope Rearrangement Of 3,4-Diphenylhexa-1,5-Diene, Harlan Albert Jerome Berg

Dissertations and Theses

Kinetics investigations of the thermal Cope rearrangement of meso-and d1-3,4-diphenylhexa-1,5-dienes were undertaken in order to gain information about the transition states for these reactions by determining the appropriate enthalpies and entropies of activation. Of particular interest were the activation parameters for the meso compounds' rearrangement as it represents the only known example in which both four-and six-centered transition states are of comparable energy.

Kinetics of the dl isomers' rearrangement in the temperature range 90-110⁰were determined using 5 X 10¯⁵M solutions of the olefin in heptane contained within sealed Pyrex ampules. Extents of reaction were determined from UV absorbance measurements at …