Adamantyl substrates nucleophilic

The convenient synthesis of adamantane [26] led to several significant developments. 1 -Adamantyl substrates (54, Scheme 2.19) are tertiary alkyl compounds for which the caged structure prevents rear-side nucleophilic attack, and elimination does not occur because adamantene (55) is too highly strained. The following question arises when does product formation occur in the solvolytic process Product studies from competing nucleophilic substitutions in mixed alcohol-water solvent mixtures have provided an answer. To explain the background to this work, we first need to discuss product selectivities. 

A mechanistic model involving nucleophilic assistance, but not taking into account the variable electrophilic assistance in different solvents, has been proposed (54, 55) for the solvolysis of tert-butyl halides. The analysis was based on a comparison of solvent effects on the solvolysis rates of tert-butyl and adamantyl substrates. The solvent properties were analyzed in terms of parameters N and Y the electrophilic assistance was incorporated into Y (54, 56). Such an approximation had been acceptable in the original wor4c (14-16), which dealt mostly with aqueous alcohols as solvents. This approximation is no longer permissible when materials like TFA and fluori-nated alcohols are used as solvents. In fact, Fainberg and Winstein (56) pointed out that different solvent mixtures could not be placed on the same correlation line. 

The difference in behavior between tert-butyl and adamantyl substrates, observed essentially in solvents of low nucleophilicity but high anion-stabilizing power, is most probably due to the higher susceptibility of the cage substrate to the electrophilic assistance. In reference 18, we presented other known examples of reactions in which the increased sensi-... 

Two situations are conducive to ipso attack. If polar effects come into play in stabilizing the transition state of the addition of the radical, then frequently ipso attack is encountered. This is clearly brought out in the different behaviour of adamantyl and methyl radicals towards the same substrate. It has been firmly established that while methyl and phenyl radicals are electroneutral, the bridgehead adamantyl radical behaves as a nucleophilic species (80ACR51). If this adamantyl radical is reacted with thiophene substrates made electron deficient by the presence of suitable substituents, then the transition state of the addition step may have the character of a charge-transfer complex the site at which the... 

Use of other methods has contributed further to the emerging picture of solvolysis of most secondary systems as being solvent-assisted. For example, the solvolysis rate acceleration on substituting a-hydrogen by CH3 in 2-adamantyl bromide is 107 5, much larger than that found for other secondary—tertiary pairs such as isopropyl-/-butyl. In molecules less hindered than 2-adamantyl, the secondary substrate is accelerated by nucleophilic attack of solvent.100 Rate accelerations and product distributions found on adding azide ion to solvolysis mixtures (Problem 4) also provide confirmatory evidence for these conclu-... 

One of the most common reasons for lowyields is an incomplete reaction. Rates of organic reactions can vary enormously, some are complete in a few seconds whereas rates of others are measured on a geological timescale. Consequently, to ensure that the problem of low yields is not simply due to low reactivity, reaction conditions should be such that some or all of the starting material does actually react. If none of the desired product is obtained, but similar reactions of related compounds are successful, the mechanistic implications should be considered. This situation has been referred to as Limitation of Reaction, and several examples have been given [32 ] the Hofmann rearrangement, for example, does not proceed for secondary amides (RCONHR ) because the intermediate anion 28 cannot form (Scheme 2.11). Sometimes, a substrate for a mechanistic investigation may be chosen deliberately to exclude particular reaction pathways for example, unimolecular substitution reactions of 1-adamantyl derivatives have been studied in detail in the knowledge that rear-side nucleophilic attack and elimination are not possible and hence not complications (see Section 2.7.1). 

In contrast to typical mono- or acyclic substrates (e. g.,isopropyl), 2-adaman-tyl derivatives are also found to be insensitive to changes in solvent nucleophilicity. A variety of criteria, summarized in Table 13, establish this point. In all cases, the behavior of 2-adamantyl tosylate is comparable to that observed for its tertiary isomer but quite unlike that observed for the isopropyl derivative. Significant nucleophilic solvent participation is indicated in the solvolysis reactions of the isopropyl system. The 2-adamantyl system, on the other hand, appears to be a unique case of limiting solvolysis in a secondary substrate 296). The 2-adamantyl/ isopropyl ratios in various solvents therefore provide a measure of the minimum rate enhancement due to nucleophilic solvent assistance in the isopropyl system 297). 

The above evidence firmly establishes that 2-adamantyl tosylate behaves very much like a tertiary substrate in its lack of response to changes in solvent nucleophilicity. As shown by correlations using eqn (9)—Section 6, Table 9—and by the relative rates in Table 1, other secondary tosylates are more responsive to solvent nucleophilicity. Schleyeret al. (1970) proposed that the magnitude of... 

An independent method for estimating nucleophilic solvent assistance has been applied to solvolyses of bromides with similar results (Fry et al., 1970b). In this approach, secondary solvolyses are compared with solvolyses of the corresponding tertiary substrates (e.g. 2-propyl compared with t-butyl). Again the reference substrate was 2-adamantyl (and 2-methyl-2-adamantyl [8]). It was found that... 

The above refinements of the interpretation of earlier work have been brought about by two important developments, recognition from studies in trifluoroacetic acid that acetic and formic acids are nucleophilic (Peterson et al., 1965) and the use of 2-adamantyl tosylate as a reference point for SnI reactivity (Schleyer et al., 1970). These developments have led to sensitive ways of detecting nucleophilic assistance and have shown that solvolyses of secondary substrates in acetic and formic acids may be significantly nucleophilically assisted (Table 2). Previous arguments were based on less sensitive tests such as the rate-accelerating effect of low concentrations of added nucleophiles, which must be appropriately oriented and desolvated before they are able nucleophilically to assist in the displacement reaction (Peterson et al., 1967). 

Adamantyl and Homoadamantyl Cations. The 2-adamantyl system is exceptional among sec-alkyl substrates since it solvolyzes without nucleophilic solvent participation (Section 7.2.1). The extent of anchimeric assistance is more difficult to evaluate. Some evidence is consistent with a weakly bridged intermediate ... 

Separation of Nucleophilic and Electrophilic Contributions to Solvation Effects. The discussion on the appropriate choice of m value for the N0Ts scale (equation 7) is part of a more general problem of dissecting the nucleophilic contributions (corresponding to the IN term in equation 5) and electrophilic contributions (included in the mY term in equation 5) to solvent effects. When a substrate reacts by a nucleophilically solvent assisted pathway, m decreases and l increases, often in a uniform manner (equation 12). Schadt et al. proposed (3) that an increase in nucleophilic assistance (increase in l) caused delocalization of positive charge, which led to a decrease in m. All of the deviations from the rates expected for SN1 (kc) reactivity were attributed to nucleophilic solvent assistance (3) Schadt et al. (3) assumed that m values for kc processes would be the same as for 2-adamantyl (II), and more recent data for 1-adamantyl (I), 1-adamantylmethylcarbinyl, and 1-bicyclo[2.2.2]octyl tosylates support this assumption (4, 53). 

For situations where solvent nucleophilicity may be a factor, Kevill (8) favors the use of the extended Grunwald-Winstein equation (equation 1). Scales of NOTs and OTs values based upon the use of methyl tosylate and 2-adamantyl tosylate as model SN2- and SNl-reacting substrates have been developed (15, 16). Also Y scales have been developed for other anionic leaving groups using 1-adamantyl or 2-adamantyl derivatives (17-19), where Sn2 reaction is impossible or severely hindered. 

Substrate structure will also influence the degree of nucleophilic solvent participation. Solvation is minimized by steric hindrance, and the 2-adamantyl system is regarded as being a secondary substrate which cannot accommodate significant back-side nucleophilic participation. 

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