Carbocations with ambident nucleophiles

Reactions of carbocations with free CN- occur preferentially at carbon, and not nitrogen as predicted by the principle of hard and soft acids and bases.69 Isocyano compounds (N-attack) are only formed with highly reactive carbocations where the reaction with cyanide occurs without an activation barrier because the diffusion limit has been reached. A study with the nitrite nucleophile led to a similar observation.70 This led to a conclusion that the ambident reactivity of nitrite in terms of charge control versus orbital control needs revision. In particular, it is proposed that SNl-type reactions of carbocations with nitrite only give kinetically controlled products when these reactions proceed without activation energy (i.e. are diffusion controlled). Activation controlled combinations are reversible and result in the thermodynamically more stable product. The kinetics of the reactions of benzhydrylium ions with alkoxides dissolved in the corresponding alcohols were determined.71 The order of nucleophilicities (OH- MeO- < EtO- < n-PrCT < / -PrO ) shows that alkoxides differ in reactivity only moderately, but are considerably more nucleophilic than hydroxide. 

The vast majority of diazoalkane reactions are based on the ambident nucleophilic character of diazoalkanes, as shown by the mesomeric structures of diazomethane 4.32 a and 4.32 b. Bronsted and Lewis acids can be added at the C- and the N()8)-atoms. The reaction with Bronsted acids is particularly important. Alkanediazonium ions are obtained by proton addition at the C-atom giving rise to dediazoniation and various reactions of carbocations (see Chapt. 7). 

The intermediacy of a carbocation or complex-equivalent is attractive, if one considers that the nucleophilic ambident cyanide ion may be accomodated on secondary or tertiary cationic sites. Where exceptions (e.g., 125,126,134-136 cf. Sect. 4.3) exist, the cationic intermediate resides on a primary allylic carbon. The following skeletal types are examples of some biogenetic schemes offered in conjunction with the structural determination of isocyanoterpenoids ... 

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