IChO 1985 · Theory problem 7

Aldol reaction of propanal: intermediate and rate equation

Propanal, A, reacts in an aqueous-ethanolic solution of sodium hydroxide to yield compound B that is readily dehydrated to give compound C (\(\ce{C6H10O}\)).

Problems:

7.1 Give the structural formulae of substances B and C.

7.2 Give the formula of intermediate M that is formed from propanal A by the action of hydroxide ions.

7.3 Give the formulae of the two most important mesomeric structures of intermediate M and denote the nonbonding electron pairs and the charge distribution.

7.4 The reaction of propanal A with sodium hydroxide, producing substance B, can be described by the scheme:

Figure 1

The rate of the formation of substance B is given by the equation:

\[ v=k_2[\mathbf M][\mathbf A] \qquad (1) \]

The above values of \(k\) are the rate constants for the individual reaction steps.

Assume that the concentration of intermediate M is small and constant during the reaction and express this fact by an aquation involving terms with constants \(k_1\), \(k_{-1}\) and \(k_2\).

\[ \frac{d[\mathbf M]}{dt}=0 \qquad (2) \]

Derive an expression for the concentration of M from equation 2 and then substitute for \([\mathbf M]\) in equation 1. This gives equation 3 which is the complete rate equation for the formation of substance B.

If it is assumed that the second reaction step is rate determining, then the rearrangement of equation 3 gives equation 4, the rate equation.

Give equations 2, 3, and 4.

7.5 Determine the overall order of the reaction described by equation 4.

Official English text of the problem.

Answers

  • 7.1 B is 3-hydroxy-2-methylpentanal, \(\ce{CH3CH2CH(OH)CH(CH3)CHO}\), SMILES CCC(O)C(C)C=O. C is 2-methylpent-2-enal, \(\ce{CH3CH2CH=C(CH3)CHO}\), SMILES CCC=C(C)C=O. The problem does not specify their stereochemistry.

  • 7.2 M is the propanal enolate ion, \(\ce{C3H5O^-}\), represented by \(\ce{CH3-CH^{-}-CH=O}\), SMILES C[CH-]C=O.

  • 7.3 Its two principal resonance contributors are \[ \ce{CH3-CH^{-}-CH=O <-> CH3-CH=CH-O^-}. \] Their SMILES are C[CH-]C=O and CC=C[O-], respectively. The carbon-centred contributor has one lone pair and charge \(-1\) on the α carbon, and two lone pairs on oxygen. The oxygen-centred contributor has three lone pairs and charge \(-1\) on oxygen.

  • 7.4 Writing solvent water explicitly: \[ \frac{d[\mathbf M]}{dt} =k_1[\mathbf A][\ce{OH^-}] -k_{-1}[\mathbf M][\ce{H2O}] -k_2[\mathbf M][\mathbf A] =0. \tag{2} \] Hence \[ [\mathbf M] =\frac{k_1[\mathbf A][\ce{OH^-}]} {k_{-1}[\ce{H2O}]+k_2[\mathbf A]}, \] and \[ v=\frac{k_1k_2[\mathbf A]^2[\ce{OH^-}]} {k_{-1}[\ce{H2O}]+k_2[\mathbf A]}. \tag{3} \] When \(k_2[\mathbf A]\ll k_{-1}[\ce{H2O}]\), \[ v\simeq \frac{k_1k_2}{k_{-1}[\ce{H2O}]} [\mathbf A]^2[\ce{OH^-}] =k_{\mathrm{obs}}[\mathbf A]^2[\ce{OH^-}]. \tag{4} \] The constant water concentration may instead be absorbed into the reverse rate constant.

  • 7.5 The overall reaction order is three: second order in propanal and first order in hydroxide, at fixed solvent composition.

Solution

7.1 — Identification of B and C

Propanal, A, is \(\ce{CH3CH2CHO}\), SMILES CCC=O. It contains α hydrogens, allowing base-catalysed self-aldol addition. Sodium hydroxide, SMILES [Na+].[OH-], supplies the hydroxide ion, SMILES [OH-].

The α carbon of one propanal molecule forms a bond to the carbonyl carbon of a second molecule. The first molecule retains its aldehyde group; the second molecule’s carbonyl group becomes an alcohol group. The balanced overall addition is

\[ \ce{2 CH3CH2CHO <=>[OH^-] CH3CH2CH(OH)CH(CH3)CHO}. \]

Numbering the product from its aldehyde carbon gives

\[ \ce{OHC-CH(CH3)-CH(OH)-CH2-CH3}. \]

Thus B is 3-hydroxy-2-methylpentanal, SMILES CCC(O)C(C)C=O, with molecular formula \(\ce{C6H12O2}\).

Dehydration removes the hydroxyl group at carbon 3 and a hydrogen from carbon 2, forming a double bond conjugated with the aldehyde group:

\[ \ce{CH3CH2CH(OH)CH(CH3)CHO -> CH3CH2CH=C(CH3)CHO + H2O}. \]

Water has SMILES O. The organic product C is 2-methylpent-2-enal, SMILES CCC=C(C)C=O. Its molecular formula is \(\ce{C6H10O}\), agreeing with the stated formula.

The problem fixes connectivity but does not select configurations at the two stereogenic centres of B, or an \(E/Z\) configuration for C. These features are therefore left unspecified in the SMILES.

7.2 — Formation of intermediate M

Hydroxide removes a proton from the carbon adjacent to the aldehyde group:

\[ \ce{CH3-CH2-CH=O + OH^- <=> CH3-CH^{-}-CH=O + H2O}. \]

The resulting propanal enolate ion, M, has molecular formula \(\ce{C3H5O^-}\), with carbon-centred representation C[CH-]C=O.

In electron-flow terms, a hydroxide lone pair forms a bond to the α hydrogen, and the electrons of the broken carbon–hydrogen bond remain in the conjugated enolate system.

7.3 — Mesomeric structures, lone pairs and charge

The two principal contributors to the propanal enolate are

\[ \underbrace{\ce{CH3-CH^{-}-CH=O}}_{\text{carbon-centred contributor}} \quad\leftrightarrow\quad \underbrace{\ce{CH3-CH=CH-O^-}}_{\text{oxygen-centred contributor}}. \]

The precise lone-pair and formal-charge assignments are:

Contributor SMILES Lone pairs on α carbon Lone pairs on oxygen Formal negative charge
Carbon-centred propanal enolate C[CH-]C=O 1 2 \(-1\) on the α carbon
Oxygen-centred propanal enolate CC=C[O-] 0 3 \(-1\) on oxygen

All other atoms have zero formal charge in these contributors.

To obtain the oxygen-centred contributor from the carbon-centred one, the α-carbon lone pair forms a π bond to the aldehyde carbon, while the carbonyl π electrons move onto oxygen. The resonance arrow describes one delocalized ion, rather than an equilibrium between separate species. The oxygen-centred contributor is especially important because oxygen stabilizes negative charge.

7.4 — Steady-state and limiting rate equations

The reaction scheme abbreviates the product-forming sequence. Carbon–carbon bond formation initially produces the aldolate ion, the alkoxide of 3-hydroxy-2-methylpentanal, SMILES CCC([O-])C(C)C=O:

\[ \ce{CH3-CH^{-}-CHO + CH3CH2CHO -> CH3CH2CH(O^-)CH(CH3)CHO}. \]

Rapid protonation by water then produces B and regenerates hydroxide:

\[ \ce{CH3CH2CH(O^-)CH(CH3)CHO + H2O <=> CH3CH2CH(OH)CH(CH3)CHO + OH^-}. \]

Thus the stated rate \(v=k_2[\mathbf M][\mathbf A]\) represents the carbon–carbon bond-forming step followed by rapid protonation.

Intermediate M is formed by deprotonation of A and consumed in two ways: reverse protonation by water and attack on another molecule of A. Under the stated steady-state approximation,

\[ \boxed{ \frac{d[\mathbf M]}{dt} =k_1[\mathbf A][\ce{OH^-}] -k_{-1}[\mathbf M][\ce{H2O}] -k_2[\mathbf M][\mathbf A] =0 }. \tag{2} \]

Rearranging,

\[ [\mathbf M]\left(k_{-1}[\ce{H2O}]+k_2[\mathbf A]\right) =k_1[\mathbf A][\ce{OH^-}], \]

so

\[ \boxed{ [\mathbf M]= \frac{k_1[\mathbf A][\ce{OH^-}]} {k_{-1}[\ce{H2O}]+k_2[\mathbf A]} }. \]

Substitution into equation (1) gives the complete steady-state rate equation:

\[ \boxed{ v= \frac{k_1k_2[\mathbf A]^2[\ce{OH^-}]} {k_{-1}[\ce{H2O}]+k_2[\mathbf A]} }. \tag{3} \]

When carbon–carbon bond formation is slow relative to the return of M to A,

\[ k_2[\mathbf A]\ll k_{-1}[\ce{H2O}]. \]

The first step is then approximately a pre-equilibrium, and equation (3) reduces to

\[ \boxed{ v\simeq \frac{k_1k_2}{k_{-1}[\ce{H2O}]} [\mathbf A]^2[\ce{OH^-}] =k_{\mathrm{obs}}[\mathbf A]^2[\ce{OH^-}] }. \tag{4} \]

At fixed solvent composition, \([\ce{H2O}]\) is constant. Equivalently, define the apparent reverse rate constant

\[ k_{-1}^{*}=k_{-1}[\ce{H2O}]. \]

Using this convention, the same equations become

\[ \begin{aligned} (2)\qquad 0&=k_1[\mathbf A][\ce{OH^-}] -k_{-1}^{*}[\mathbf M] -k_2[\mathbf M][\mathbf A],\\[2mm] (3)\qquad v&=\frac{k_1k_2[\mathbf A]^2[\ce{OH^-}]} {k_{-1}^{*}+k_2[\mathbf A]},\\[2mm] (4)\qquad v&\simeq\frac{k_1k_2}{k_{-1}^{*}} [\mathbf A]^2[\ce{OH^-}]. \end{aligned} \]

For concentrations in \(\mathrm{mol\,L^{-1}}\) and time in seconds, \(k_{\mathrm{obs}}\) has units \(\mathrm{L^2\,mol^{-2}\,s^{-1}}\), giving \(v\) in \(\mathrm{mol\,L^{-1}\,s^{-1}}\).

7.5 — Overall order

Equation (4), with solvent composition fixed, contains the concentration factors

\[ [\mathbf A]^2[\ce{OH^-}]^1. \]

Consequently,

\[ \boxed{n=2+1=3}. \]

Water is part of the fixed solvent medium, so its concentration is included in the effective rate constant when assigning this order.

The solution was checked against the official solution.