What conditions will generate the following product,and what best describes the rotation of orbitals in the electrocyclic reaction shown below?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The given reaction is an electrocyclic reaction, which involves the breaking and formation of pi bonds. In this case, the starting material is a cyclohexene ring with a conjugated diene. The product is a cyclohexadiene ring with no conjugation (i.e., non-conjugated diene).

For the given reaction to occur, it needs to be thermally initiated (i.e., heat is required). This is because the starting material is not strained, and the activation energy needed for the reaction to occur is high. The thermal energy provided by heat helps to overcome this activation energy barrier.

The mechanism of the given reaction involves a disrotatory motion of the orbitals. This means that the top and bottom ends of the p-orbitals involved in the reaction are rotating in opposite directions. This leads to the breaking of one pi bond and the formation of a new pi bond in a perpendicular orientation to the previous one. This results in the formation of a non-conjugated diene.

What Conditions Will Generate the Following Product,and What Best Describes