Phenomena anchimeric assistance

Thus, two types of active esters are of interest those formed from an acid and a substituted phenol (12-15) and those formed from an acid and a substituted hydroxylamine (16-19). Both types are reactive by virtue of the electron-withdrawing properties of the OR moiety in 2. The level of activation of the substituted phenyl esters varies directly with the electronic effect going from 4-nitrophenyl to 2,4,5-trichlorophenyl, pentachlorophenyl, and pentafluorophenyl, which corresponds with the increasing acidity of the phenols. A diminution in the rate of aminolysis is caused by the presence of a substituent in the ortho position of the ring.f l An additional phenomenon contributes to the reactivity of the esters formed from substituted hydroxylamines, namely anchimeric assistance. Since the anoinolysis of active esters is a bimolecular reaction, it is dependent on concentration and can be forced to completion by an excess of one of the reactants. Aminolysis is also characterized by a pronounced dependence on the polarity of the solvent in particular for the esters formed from substituted phenols, the half-life of a 2,4,5-trichlorophenyl ester in the presence of benzylamine being one hundred times less in dimethylformamide than in benzene. Furthermore, aminolysis is catalyzed by mild acid such as acetic acid. The rate of anoinolysis is slowed if the side chain of the active ester contains a P-methyl substituent. 

The presence of an amino group in n-alkyl halides is a cause of rapid solvolysis accompanied by ring closure. This phenomenon is shown by substituents capable of stabilizing the transition state by becoming bonded or partially bonded to the reaction center. The rate increases are explained by neighboring-group participation , the substituent providing anchimeric assistance to the reaction center... 

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