Sulfur Versus Oxygen in Interaction with the Double Bond: AB Initio Study of Electronic Structure and Prototropic Rearrangement of 1-Methoxy-2-propene and 1-Methylthio-2-propene

The ab initio calculations of 1-methoxy-2-propene ( 1 ), 1-methylthio-2-propene ( 2 ), and their anions are performed using the RHF/6-31+G* geometry optimization followed by MP2/6-31+G* energy calculations. Both 1 and 2 are found to rearrange toward 1-substituted 1-propenes with a comparable exothermic effect. However, the proton abstraction energies of 1 and 2 differ significantly. So, the acidity of propene is just slightly affected by the OCH 3 group while the SCH 3 group decreases its proton abstraction energy by 17.5 kcal/mol. Changes in charge distribution, bond lengths and bond orders suggest the negative hyperconjugation to stabilize anions of 2 but not that of 1 . This divergence is explained with a difference in sulfur and oxygen electronegativity. The d -functions of both sulfur and oxygen act in polarization. The Z -isomer of anion 1 is found to be by 2.9 kcal/mol more stable than its E -isomer, this could provide a predominant kinetic formation of the less stable Z -isomer of 1-methoxy-1-prop...