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Published September 11, 1996 | public
Journal Article

Retro-Diels−Alder Femtosecond Reaction Dynamics

Abstract

In this communication, we present our first femtosecond (fs), real-time studies of the retro-Diels-Alder reactions of norbornene (NB) and norbornadiene (NBD), products of the cycloaddition of cyclopentadiene with ethylene and acetylene, respectively. The reaction path, together with transition state (TS) structures, is displayed in Figure 1 (bottom). The experiments were designed with the following considerations in mind. First, the reactions were studied in a molecular beam in order to isolate the elementary processes, free of solvent perturbations. Second, we examined the dynamics of the reaction from a well-defined initial geometry, a precursor of Diels-Alder products.

Additional Information

© 1996 American Chemical Society. Received June 20, 1996. Publication Date (Web): September 11, 1996. This work was supported by the NSF and by the AFOSR. We are grateful to Dr. J. S. Baskin for his effort on the RRKM calculations. We particularly acknowledge the stimulating discussions with and helpful suggestions from J. D. Roberts, J. Michl, K. N. Houk, and J. H. Kiefer. The discussions with Jerry Berson on the stereochemistry was paramount in clarifying several points and in kindling excitment about the organic world. We also thank Michael Machczynski for his experimental help and suggestions in the initial stage of the study.

Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 20, 2023