The role of intramolecular hydrogen bonds in nucleophilic addition reactions of ketenaminals

Quantum-chemical calculations of the geometries and electronic structures of molecules of ketenaminals 3-(diaminomethylene)-2,4-pentanedione and dimethyl-2-(diaminomethylene)-malonate and calculations of the structures of intermediates in the reaction of the nucleophilic addition of the ketenaminals to the acetonitrile molecule are performed by B3LYP/6-31+G** method. Two possible scenarios of the process are shown, depending on the mutual orientation of reacting molecules. The nucleophilic addition proceeds in two stages. It is found that the rate-limiting stage of the process is the transfer of the proton of the intramolecular hydrogen bond in a ketenaminal molecule. The experimentally observed faster reaction of pyrimidine formation for the 3-(diaminomethylene)-2,4-pentanedione molecule relative to that for dimethyl-2-(diaminomethylene)-malonate is explained by the hydrogen bond being stronger and the barrier of proton transfer from the aminogroup to the ketogroup oxygen falling upon nucleophilic attack in the former molecule.