Azacyclohexatriene-2-ylidene (1), the 2-isomer of pyridine (2), has been generated by one-electron reduction of the corresponding radical cation in neutralization−reionization mass spectrometric experiments. The experimental finding that this molecule is stable on the microsecond time scale is in agreement with results of quantum chemical calculations that indicate both 1 and its radical cation, 1•+ , correspond to minima on the C5H5N and C5H5N•+ potential energy surfaces. The calculations predict that 1 is less stable than pyridine, 2, by 50 and 49 kcal/mol (MP2/6-31G** and CASSCF-MP2/6-31G**, respectively) or 47 kcal/mol (B3LYP/6-31G**), whereas the radical cations 1•+ and 2•+ are much closer in energy. The ylid ion 1•+ is predicted to be 6 and 7 kcal/mol lower in energy than 2•+ at the MP2 and CASSCF-MP2/6-31G** levels, respectively, and 1 kcal/mol higher according to the hybrid density functional theory. Calculations also suggest that facile isomerization of the ions is prohibited by an energy barrier, amounting to 62 and 57 kcal/mol at MP2/6-31G** and B3LYP/6-31G**, respectively, relative to 1•+ , which is even larger than the 38 kcal/mol obtained at both levels of theory required for the neutral transformation. Despite the substantial impediments, isomerization of excited species is possible since the lowest dissociation channels lie even higher in energy but the experimental observations confirm that neither the ions or neutrals undergo particularly facile isomerization. Using known thermochemical data a value for ΔH f (1•+ ) = 237 ± 5 kcal/mol was obtained from the measured appearance energy, 10.14 eV, of the C5H5N•+ ion generated from methyl picolinate, which is completely consistent with the theoretical predictions of 237−242 kcal/mol derived from the calculated energy differences between the various species and the known heat of formation of 2.

COMMUNICATIONSIn conclusion, dyotropic p-lactone-y-lactone ring enlargement follows the nonconcerted mechanism B; the migratory aptitudes of the substituents are in the order z-donor>ndonor > o-donor substituent. Migration of z-donor (and possibly also of o-donor) substituents proceeds via intermediate Z-1, whose lifetime depends on carbenium stabilization. The migration of n-donor (oxygen) substituents involves a bridged oxonium species 2-3. In all rearrangements an inversion at C4 is observed without exception. The stereochemical course of the reaction is better clarified,['I and its preparative value lies in the stereocontrolled formation of three contiguous stereogenic centers in the y-lactones 2c,e-h.

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The 1, 2-hydrogen shift isomers of neutral (singlet and triplet) thiazole (1) and its radical cation have been investigated by a combination of mass spectro-metric experiments and hybrid density functional theory calculations. The latter were used to probe the structures and stabilities of selected C3 H3 NS and C3 H3 NS(.+) isomers and transition state structures. Although 3H-thiazole-2-ylidene (2) is less stable than 1, by 31.5 kcalmol(-1) , it is expected to be capable of independent existence, since the 1, 2-hydrogen shift from carbon to nitrogen involves a very large energy barrier of 72.4 kcalmol(-1) . The other 1, 2-hydrogen shift reaction from C(2) leads not to the expected cyclic 1H-thiazole-2-ylidene structure (3), which is apparently unstable, but rather to the ring-opened species HSCHCHNC (4), which is 34.5 kcalmol(-1) higher in energy than 1. The barrier in this case is lower but still large (54.9 kcalmol(-1) ). The triplet ground states of 1, 2 and 4 are considerably destabilised (69.5, 63.2 and 58.7 kcalmol(-1) ) relative to their singlet states. Interestingly, in addition to 2(.+) and 4(.+) , the cyclic radical cation 3(.+) is predicted to be stable although it is substantially higher in energy than ionised thiazole 1(.+) (by 53.9 kcalmol(-1) ), whereas 2(.+) and 4(.+) are much closer in energy (only 10.2 and 27.0 kcalmol(-1) higher, respectively). Dissuading 2(.+) and 3(.+) from isomerising to 1(.+) are energy barriers of 52.6 and 15.3 kcalmol(-1) , respectively. Experimentally, dissociative ionisation of 2-acetylthiazole enabled the generation of 2(.+) , which could be differentiated from 1(.+) by collisional activation mass spectrometry. Reduction of the ylide ion 2(.+) in neutralisation-reionisation mass spectrometry experiments yielded the corresponding neutral molecule 2. This direct observation of a thiazolium ylide provides support for postulates of such species as discrete intermediates in a variety of biochemical transformations.

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