A-Methyl benzyl cation/methanol adducts

Racemization of chiral a-methyl benzyl cation/methanol adducts. The rate of exchange between water and the chiral labeled alcohols as a function of racemization has been extensively used as a criterion for discriminating the Sn2 from the SnI solvolytic mechanisms in solution. The expected ratio of exchange vs. racemization rate is 0.5 for the Sn2 mechanism and 1.0 for a pure SnI process. With chiral 0-enriched 1-phenylethanol in aqueous acids, this ratio is found to be equal to 0.84 0.05. This value has been interpreted in terms of the kinetic pattern of Scheme 22 involving the reversible dissociation of the oxonium ion (5 )-40 (XOH = H2 0) to the chiral intimate ion-dipole pair (5 )-41 k-i > In (5 )-41, the leaving H2 0 molecule does not equilibrate immediately with the solvent (i.e., H2 0), but remains closely associated with the ion. This means that A inv is of the same order of magnitude of In contrast, the rate constant ratio of... 

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