On the outside looking in: rethinking the molecular mechanism of 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions from the perspective of bonding evolution theory. The reaction between cyclic nitrones and ethyl acrylate.

In this work we report on the progress that has been made towards gaining an understanding of the molecular mechanism of 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions using the bonding evolution theory (BET). A detailed analysis of the flow of electron density along the reaction pathway of the formal 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction between cyclic nitrones (pyrroline-1-oxide and 2,3,4,5-tetrahydropyridine-1-oxide) and ethyl acrylate, as a case study, allowed the nature of the molecular mechanisms to be characterized. The present study provides a deep insight into the reaction mechanism, based on the electron density rearrangements given by the structural stability domains, and their connection with the bond breaking/forming processes along the reaction pathway.