Hypervalent twisting

Goddard and Su have investigated theoretically the mechanism of alcohol oxidation with 2-iodoxybenzoic acid (IBX) on the basis of density functional quantum mechanics calculations [134], It has been found that the rearrangement of hypervalent bonds, so-called hypervalent twisting, is the rate-determining step in this reaction. Based on this mechanism, the authors explain why IBX oxidizes large alcohols faster than small ones and propose a modification to the reagent that is predicted to make it more active [134]. 

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