ISSN 1017-2548(Print)
ISSN 2234-8530(Online)
Volume 45, Number 3
JKCSEZ 45(3)
June 20, 2001 

DFT calculations have been performed on several substituted 1,4-diaza-1,3-butadienes (1,4-DABs) with electron donating and withdrawing groups at the terminal two nitrogens to investigate the reactivity of Diels-Alder reaction with acrolein. The calculated FMO (Frontier Molecular Orbital) energies for the optimized 1,4-disubstituted-1,4-DABs have been used to explain both normal and inverse electron demand Diels-Alder reactions. It is shown that the electron donating and withdrawing substituents lead to the normal(HOMO diene controlled) and inverse electron demand (LUMO diene controlled) Diels-Alder reactions, respectively.