An experimental and quantumchemical study of [2+3] cycloaddition between (Z)-C-(m,m,p-trimethoxyphenyl)-N-(p-methyphenyl)-nitrone and (E)-3,3,3-trichloro-1-nitroprop-1-ene: mechanistic aspects

Analysis of addent interactions with respect to the theory of electrophilicity and nucleophilicity indexes and kinetic studies shows the polar nature of [2+3] cycloaddition of (Z)-C-(m,m,p-trimethoxyphenyl)-N-(p-methylphenyl)-nitrone to (E)-3,3,3-trichloro-1-nitroprop-1-ene. However, PES exploration results do not confirm any zwitterion on the reaction paths. On the other hand, the nature of the solvent effect and the experimentally determined activation parameter values do not exclude a scenario in which one-step and stepwise processes occur simultaneously.