| Names | |
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| Preferred IUPAC name Bicyclo[1.1.0]butane | |
| Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) | |
| ChemSpider | |
PubChem CID | |
| UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
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| Properties | |
| C4H6 | |
| Molar mass | 54.092 g·mol−1 |
| Appearance | colorless gas |
| Boiling point | 8.3 ± 0.2 °C |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). | |
Bicyclo[1.1.0]butane is an organic compound with the formula C4H6. It is a bicyclic molecule consisting of two cis -fused cyclopropane rings, and is a colorless and easily condensed gas. [1] Bicyclobutane is noted for being one of the most strained compounds that is isolatable on a large scale [2]
Bicyclobutane is highly strained — its strain energy is estimated at 63.9 kcal mol−1. It is a nonplanar molecule, with a dihedral angle between the two cyclopropane rings of 123°. [2]
The first reported bicyclobutane was the ethyl carboxylate derivative, C4H5CO2Et, which was prepared by dehydrohalogenation the corresponding bromocyclobutanecarboxylate ester with sodium hydride. [2] The parent hydrocarbon was prepared from 1-bromo-3-chlorocyclobutane by conversion of the bromocyclobutanecarboxylate ester, [1] followed by intramolecular Wurtz coupling using molten sodium. [3] The intermediate 1-bromo-3-chlorocyclobutane can also be prepared via a modified Hunsdiecker reaction from 3-chlorocyclobutanecarboxylic acid using mercuric oxide and bromine: [4]
Stereochemical evidence indicates that bicyclobutane undergoes thermolysis to form 1,3-butadiene with an activation energy of 41 kcal mol−1 via a concerted pericyclic mechanism (cycloelimination, [σ2s+σ2a]). [5]
Bicyclo[1.1.0]butanes are explored in medicinal chemistry as covalent reactive groups. [6]
In the simplest case, double cyclopropanation of acetylene with a copper catalyst gives a 1:1 mixture of cyclopropenes and symmetric bicyclobutanes. [7] Other symmetric bicyclobutanes form from functionalization of benzvalene. [8]
A synthetic approach to more substituted bicyclobutane derivatives involves ring closure of a suitably substituted 2-bromo-1-(chloromethyl)cyclopropane with magnesium in THF, [9] or methyllithium in diethyl ether (lithium-halogen exchange). [10]
Substituted bicyclo[1.1.0]butanes can also be prepared from the reaction of iodo-bicyclo[1.1.1]pentanes with amines, thiols, and sulfinate salts: [11]
Linolenic acid can be converted into its bicyclobutane derivative using a fusion protein produced by a strain of the cyanobacterium Anabaena sphaerica (strain PCC 7120). [12] The other group reported a directed evolution approach, whereby engineered heme protein was expressed in E. coli and optimized for rate and yield of a substituted bicyclobutane derivative. [13]