The enthalpy of activation for rearrangement of oxetenes is ca. 10 kcal/mol less than for cyclobutenes, presumably because the oxetene rearrangement to product is more exothermic. Use of Franklin group equivalents with equal strain for the tetramethyloxetene and cyclobutene9 shows that the oxetene rearrangement liberates ca. 23 kcal/mol more energy than the cyclobutene rearrangement. The results show that approximately half of this extra product stabilization is reflected in a lower transition energy for reaction.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.