El mechanism

FIGURE 5 12 The El mechanism for the dehydrohalogenation of 2 bromo 2 methylbutane in ethanol... 

The alkyl halide m this case 2 bromo 2 methylbutane ionizes to a carbocation and a halide anion by a heterolytic cleavage of the carbon-halogen bond Like the dissoci ation of an aUcyloxonmm ion to a carbocation this step is rate determining Because the rate determining step is ummolecular—it involves only the alkyl halide and not the base—It is a type of El mechanism... 

Typically elimination by the El mechanism is observed only for tertiary and some secondary alkyl halides and then only when the base is weak or m low con centration Unlike eliminations that follow an E2 pathway and exhibit second order kinetic behavior... 

The reactivity order parallels the ease of carbocation formation Increasing rate of elimination by the El mechanism... 

We have seen this situation before m the reaction of alcohols with hydrogen halides (8ection 4 11) m the acid catalyzed dehydration of alcohols (8ection 5 12) and m the conversion of alkyl halides to alkenes by the El mechanism (8ection 5 17) As m these other reactions an electronic effect specifically the stabilization of the carbocation intermediate by alkyl substituents is the decisive factor The more stable the carbo cation the faster it is formed... 

Elimination unimolecular (El) mechanism (Section 5 17) Mechanism for elimination characterized by the slow for mation of a carbocation intermediate followed by rapid loss of a proton from the carbocation to form the alkene Enamine (Section 17 11) Product of the reaction of a second ary amine and an aldehyde or a ketone Enamines are char actenzed by the general structure... 

As depicted, the E2 mechanism involves a bimolecular transition state in which removal of a proton to the leaving group is concerted with departure of the leaving group. In contrast, the rate-determining step in the El mechanism is the unimolecular ionization of... 

There is another useiiil way of depicting the ideas embodied in the variable transition state theory of elimination reactions. This is to construct a three-dimensional potential energy diagram. Suppose that we consider the case of an ethyl halide. The two stepwise reaction paths both require the formation of high-energy intermediates. The El mechanism requires formation of a carbocation whereas the Elcb mechanism proceeds via a caibanion intermediate. 

In the El mechanism, the leaving group has completely ionized before C—H bond breaking occurs. The direction of the elimination therefore depends on the structure of the carbocation and the identity of the base involved in the proton transfer that follows C—X heterolysis. Because of the relatively high energy of the carbocation intermediate, quite weak bases can effect proton removal. The solvent m often serve this function. The counterion formed in the ionization step may also act as the proton acceptor ... 

The dehydration of alcohols is an important elimination reaction that takes place under acidic rather flian basic conditions. It involves an El mechanism." The function of the acidic reagent is to convert the hydroxyl group to a better leaving group by protonation ... 

This elimination reaction is the reverse of acid-catalyzed hydration, which was discussed in Section 6.2. Because a carbocation or closely related species is the intermediate, the elimination step would be expected to favor the more substituted alkene as discussed on p. 384. The El mechanism also explains the general trends in relative reactivity. Tertiary alcohols are the most reactive, and reactivity decreases going to secondary and primary alcohols. Also in accord with the El mechanism is the fact that rearranged products are found in cases where a carbocation intermediate would be expected to rearrange ... 

FIGURE 5.6 The El mechanism for the acid-catalyzed dehydration of tert-butyl alcohol. 

Section 5.12 Secondary and tertiary alcohols undergo dehydration by an El mechanism involving carbocation intermediates. 

Section 5.17 In the absence of a strong base, alkyl halides eliminate by an El mechanism. Rate-detennining ionization of the alkyl halide to a carbocation is followed by deprotonation of the carbocation. 

Much evidence has been obtained in support of the El mechanism. For example, El reactions show first-order kinetics, consistent with a rate-limiting spontaneous dissociation process, l- urthermore, El reactions show- no deuterium isotope effect because rupture of the C—H (or C—D) bond occurs after the rate-limiting step rather than during it. Thus, we can t measure a rate difference between a deuterated and nondeuterated substrate. 

Diethyl ether and other simple symmetrical ethers are prepared industrially by the sulfuric acid-catalyzed dehydration of alcohols. The reaction occurs by SN2 displacement of water from a protonated ethanol molecule by the oxygen atom of a second ethanol. Unfortunately, the method is limited to use with primary alcohols because secondary and tertiary alcohols dehydrate by an El mechanism to yield alkenes (Section 17.6). 

Ethers with a tertiary, benzylic, or allylic group cleave by an S l or FI mechanism because these substrates can produce stable intermediate carbocations. These reactions are often fast and take place at moderate temperatures. fcrf-Butyl ethers, for example, react by an El mechanism on treatment with trifluoroacetic acid at 0 °C. We ll see in Section 26.7 that the reaction is often used in the laboratory synthesis of peptides. 

The El mechanism is a two-step process in which the rate-determining step is ionization of the substrate to give a carbocation that rapidly loses a P proton to a base,... 

The lUPAC designation is Dn + De (or Dn+Dh). This mechanism normally operates without an added base. Just as the E2 mechanism is analogous to and competes with the Sn2, so is the El mechanism related to the SnE In fact, the first step of the El is exactly the same as that of the SnI mechanism. The second step differs in that the solvent pulls a proton from the P carbon of the carbocation rather than attacking it at the positively charged carbon, as in the SnI process. In a pure El reaction (i.e., without ion pairs), the product should be completely nonstereospecific, since the carbocation is free to adopt its most stable conformation before giving up the proton. 

The reaction exhibits first-order kinetics (in substrate) as expected. Of course the solvent is not expected to appear in the rate equation, even if it were involved in the rate-determining step (p. 291), but this point can be easily checked by adding a small amount of the conjugate base of the solvent. It is generally found that such an addition does not increase the rate of the reaction. If this more powerful base does not enter into the rate-determining step, it is unlikely that the solvent does. An example of an El mechanism with a rate-determining second step (proton transfer) has been reported. ... 

In the El mechanism, X leaves first, and then H. In the E2 mechanism, the two groups leave at the same time. There is a third possibility the H leaves first, and then the X. This is a two-step process, called the ElcB mechanism, or the carbanion mechanism, since the intermediate is a carbanion ... 

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