A proposal for the prediction of the isomeric formation of N,N-di(2-acetylcyclopentyl) ethylenediamine

AM1 calculations were carried out to study the reaction mechanism required for obtaining N,N-di(2-acetylcyclopentyl) ethylenediamine. A proposal of th e reaction mechanism showed that the decisive step of the reaction is the a ddition of the second molecule of 2-acetylcyclopencyl. Starting from this r esult, a mathematical model was rested by using the formation energy, the B oltzmann Distribution Law and the percentages of nucleophilic and electroph ilic characters calculated with AMI and PM3, and STO-3G, 3-21G* and 6-31G* basis. According to this model, the AMI calculations predict the experiment al results best. The populations of the products were also calculated, once having been obtained experimentally, with the levels AM1 and PM3 as the st arting point; again, the calculations carried out with AM1 were found to pr edict the experimental results better than the PM3 method. (C) 2000 Elsevie r Science B.V. All rights reserved.