Direct observation of the ionization step in solvolysis reactions: electrophilicity versus electrofugality of carbocations.

Rates and equilibria of the reactions of highly stabilized amino-substituted benzhydrylium ions (Ar2CH+) with carboxylate ions have been determined photometrically in acetone and acetonitrile solutions. Treatment of covalent benzhydryl carboxylates (Ar2CH-O2CR) with aqueous acetone or acetonitrile leads to the regeneration of the colored amino-substituted benzhydrylium ions Ar2CH+, which do not undergo subsequent reactions with the solvent. One can, therefore, directly measure the first step of S(N)1 reactions. The electrofugality order, i.e., the relative ionization rates of benzhydryl esters Ar2CH-O2CR with the same anionic leaving group, does not correlate with the corresponding electrophilicity order, i.e., the relative reactivities of the corresponding benzhydrylium ions Ar2CH+ toward a common nucleophile. Thus, benzhydrylium ions which are produced with equal rates by ionization of the corresponding covalent esters may differ by more than 2 orders of magnitude in their reactivities toward nucleophiles, e.g., carboxylate ions. Variable intrinsic barriers account for the breakdown of the rate-equilibrium relationships. Complete free-energy profiles for the ionization of benzhydryl carboxylates Ar2CH-O2CR are constructed, which demonstrate that the transition states of these ionizations are not carbocation-like. As a consequence, variation of the solvent-ionizing power Y has only a small effect on the ionization rate constant (m = 0.35 to 0.55) indicating that small values of m in the Winstein-Grunwald equation do not necessarily imply an S(N)2 type mechanism.

New C-C coupling reaction of cyclic nitronates with carbon nucleophiles. Umpolung of the conventional reactivity of nitronates.

Cyclic six-membered nitronates 1 are involved in diastereoselective C-C coupling reactions with various nucleophiles in the presence of either catalytic or stoichiometric amounts of TBDMSOTf to give the previously unknown N-siloxytetrahydrooxazines. The intermediacy of N,N-bis(oxy)iminium cations was proven by NMR data.

2-silyloxy-1,2-oxazines, a new type of acetals of conjugated nitroso alkenes.

3-alkyl-substituted 1,2-oxazine N-oxides 2 can be selectively transformed into 2-silyloxy-1,2-oxazines 1 upon treatment with silylating reagents. In the solid state derivatives 1 adopt a chair conformation with the pyramidal nitrogen atom, whereas in solution they exist as an equilibrating mixture of two conformers (DeltaG++ 55-60 kJ/mol). A preliminary study of the reactivity of nitrosals 1 has shown that they react with O- and N-stabilized carbocations to yield 1,2-oxazine N-oxides with a functionalized alkyl substituent at the 3-position. Moreover, compounds 1 can rearrange into silyloxy-1,2-oxazines 5 and react with morpholine to produce 3-morpholinoalkyl-1,2-oxazines 7 existing in a tautameric equilibrium with open-chain oximes 6.

Structure and stereodynamics of N,N-bis(silyloxy)enamines.

The structure and stereodynamics of N,N-bis(silyloxy)enamines (1), a new class of enamines with extraordinary reactivity, have been simulated by the DFT PBE/TZP method. The computed pattern of dynamic behavior and structural peculiarities of 1 was shown to reflect adequately the results of the studies by a series of physical methods including X-ray analysis and dynamic NMR and UV spectroscopies, which provided evidence of a rather low barrier for rotation around the C,N single bond, a negligible contribution of the n-pi-conjugation, a high barrier of inversion, and high pyramidality of the nitrogen atom.