Prediction of Organic Reaction Products:  Determining the Best Reaction Conditions

Abstract

We describe some of our most recent achievements concerning the selection of the best set of reaction conditions for a specific reaction. In particular, we will concentrate on the selection of the best solvent to minimize side reactions. The solvent should favor a kinetically controlled reaction if it is a good solvent for the transition state and a bad solvent for the ground state, decreasing the activation energy. Consequently, we need the descriptions of the transition state and of the state solvation. We generally apply the principle of "similarity in solvation"; i.e., we calculate an approximate similarity between reactants, transition states, and solvent molecules. The more the former are similar to the latter, the more they are solvated. This permits the selection and the ordering of the solvents. We considered other aspects of reaction conditions that will be briefly commented on. Some results will be presented to illustrate the power of the method.