Lactones. 2. Enthalpies of hydrolysis, reduction, and formation of the C4-C13 monocyclic lactones. Strain energies and conformations

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/ja00020a036

The enthalpies of hydrolysis of the monocyclic lactones from γ-butyrolactone to tridecanolactone were determined calorimetrically, and the acyclic ethyl having the number of atoms were studied in the fashion. The enthalpies of reduction of the lactones to the corresponding α,ω-alkanediols with lithium triethylborohydride also were determined. The enthalpies of formation of the lactones and the ethyl esters were derived from these data. They were converted to values for the gas phase by measuring the enthalpies of vaporization of ethyl esters and of lactones. In the of γ-butyrolactone and δ-valerolactone, the enthalpies of formation were in good accord with the previously reported values determined via combustion calorimetry. The strain energies of the lactones were obtained via isodesmic reactions. Valerolactone had a strain energy of 11 kcal/mol, and the largest strain energy was found with octanolactone (13 kcal/mol). The conformations of γ-butyrolactone and δ-valerolactone were studied via MP2/6-31G* geometry optimizations, and the conformations of the other lactones were studied with use of the molecular mechanics program MM3. The energies of the lactones estimated via molecular mechanics were compared with the experimental results.