Rate enhancements

Another strategy is to use a nitroxide that is intrinsically unstable. Part of the success of the open chain nitroxides that have an a-hydrogen (86-90) has been attributed to this factor. 

Alkoxyamine C-0 bond homolysis rates have been shown to increase where propagating radical is  

NMP has mainly been used for S polymerization (9.3.6.5.1) and, to a lesser extent, acrylate (9.3.6.5.2) polymerization. The early and much current work has focused on the use of TEMPO and derivatives. The open chain nitroxides 86-91 ( I able 9.3) provide broader though still restricted utility. Some of the previously difficult monomers that have recently been tackled successfully include HEA,  

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Chorismate Mutase catalyzed Claisen Rearrangement- 10 rate enhancement over non-enzymatic reaction... 

The extreme influence water can exert on the Diels-Alder reaction was rediscovered by Breslow in 1980, much by coincidence . Whale studying the effect of p-cyclodextrin on the rate of a Diels-Alder reaction in water, accidentally, the addition of the cyclodextrin was omitted, but still rate constants were observed that were one to two orders of magnitude larger than those obtained in organic solvents. The investigations that followed this remarkable observation showed that the acceleration of Diels-Alder reactions by water is a general phenomenon. Table 1.2 contains a selection from the multitude of Diels-Alder reactions in aqueous media that have been studied Note that the rate enhancements induced by water can amount up to a factor 12,800 compared to organic solvents (entry 1 in Table 1.2). 

Alternatively, authors have repeatedly invoked the internal pressure of water as an explanation of the rate enhancements of Diels-Alder reactions in this solvent ". They were probably inspired by the well known large effects of the external pressure " on rates of cycloadditions. However, the internal pressure of water is very low and offers no valid explanation for its effect on the Diels-Alder reaction. The internal pressure is defined as the energy required to bring about an infinitesimal change in the volume of the solvents at constant temperature pi = (r)E / Due to the open and... 

Apart from the thoroughly studied aqueous Diels-Alder reaction, a limited number of other transformations have been reported to benefit considerably from the use of water. These include the aldol condensation , the benzoin condensation , the Baylis-Hillman reaction (tertiary-amine catalysed coupling of aldehydes with acrylic acid derivatives) and pericyclic reactions like the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition and the Qaisen rearrangement (see below). These reactions have one thing in common a negative volume of activation. This observation has tempted many authors to propose hydrophobic effects as primary cause of ftie observed rate enhancements. 

The rate constants for the catalysed Diels-Alder reaction of 2.4g with 2.5 (Table 2.3) demonstrate that the presence of the ionic group in the dienophile does not diminish the accelerating effect of water on the catalysed reaction. Comparison of these rate constants with those for the nonionic dienophiles even seems to indicate a modest extra aqueous rate enhancement of the reaction of 2.4g. It is important to note here that no detailed information has been obtained about the exact structure of the catalytically active species in the oiganic solvents. For example, ion pairing is likely to occur in the organic solvents. 

A quantitative correlation between rate and equilibrium constants for the different metal ions is absent. The observed rate enhancements are a result of catalysis by the metal ions and are clearly not a result of protonation of the pyridyl group, since the pH s of all solutions were within the region where the rate constant is independent of the pH (Figure 2.1). 

In contrast to the situation in the absence of catalytically active Lewis acids, micelles of Cu(DS)2 induce rate enhancements up to a factor 1.8710 compared to the uncatalysed reaction in acetonitrile. These enzyme-like accelerations result from a very efficient complexation of the dienophile to the catalytically active copper ions, both species being concentrated at the micellar surface. Moreover, the higher affinity of 5.2 for Cu(DS)2 compared to SDS and CTAB (Psj = 96 versus 61 and 68, respectively) will diminish the inhibitory effect due to spatial separation of 5.1 and 5.2 as observed for SDS and CTAB. 

This thesis describes a study of catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions in water. No studies in this field had been reported at the start of the research, despite the well known beneficial effects of acpieous solvents as well as of Lewis-add catalysts on rate and endo-exo selectivity of Diels-Alder reactions in organic solvents. We envisaged that a combination of these two effects might well result in extremely large rate enhancements and improvements of the endo-exo selectivity. 

In contrast to SDS, CTAB and C12E7, CufDSjz micelles catalyse the Diels-Alder reaction between 1 and 2 with enzyme-like efficiency, leading to rate enhancements up to 1.8-10 compared to the reaction in acetonitrile. This results primarily from the essentially complete complexation off to the copper ions at the micellar surface. Comparison of the partition coefficients of 2 over the water phase and the micellar pseudophase, as derived from kinetic analysis using the pseudophase model, reveals a higher affinity of 2 for Cu(DS)2 than for SDS and CTAB. The inhibitory effect resulting from spatial separation of la-g and 2 is likely to be at least less pronoimced for Cu(DS)2 than for the other surfactants. 

The value of the second-order rate constant for nitration of benzene-sulphonic acid in anhydrous sulphuric acid varies with the concentration of the aromatic substrate and with that of additives such as nitromethane and sulphuryl chloride. The effect seems to depend on the total concentration of non-electrolyte, moderate values of which (up to about 0-5 mol 1 ) depress the rate constant. More substantial concentrations of non-electrolytes can cause marked rate enhancements in this medium. Added hydrogen sulphate salts or bases such as pyridine... 

Success of the reactions depends considerably on the substrates and reaction Conditions. Rate enhancement in the coupling reaction was observed under high pressure (10 kbar)[l 1[. The oxidative addition of aryl halides to Pd(0) is a highly disfavored step when powerful electron donors such as OH and NHt reside on aromatic rings. Iodides react smoothly even in the absence of a... 

Alkoxythiazoles are easily cleaved by acids yielding A-4-thiazoline-2-ones (36). C-5 Nitration of the thiazole ring is favored by the 2-alkoxy group (288. 297, 307). Recent kinetic investigations have shown that the rate enhancement is 3 log units (893). 

The large rate enhancements observed for bimolecular nucleophilic substitutions m polai aprotic solvents are used to advantage m synthetic applications An example can be seen m the preparation of alkyl cyanides (mtiiles) by the reaction of sodium cyanide with alkyl halides... 

An ortho nitro group exerts a comparable rate enhancing effect m Chloronitrobenzene although much more reactive than chlorobenzene itself is thousands of times less reac tive than either o or p chloronitrobenzene... 

Similarly, thioalcohols and thiophenols react with isocyanates to form thiocarbamates. Although these reactions are generally found to be much slower than that of the corresponding alcohol, alkoxide catalysts have successfully been used to provide moderate levels of rate enhancement (68). 

Table 15 shows that peroxyester stabiUty decreases for the alkyl groups in the following order tert — butyl > tert — amyl > tert — octyl > tert — cumyl > 3 — hydroxy — 1,1 dimethylbutyl. The order of activity of the R group in peroxyesters is also observed in other alkyl peroxides. Peroxyesters derived from benzoic acids and non-abranched carboxyUc acids are more stable than those derived from mono-a-branched acids which are more stable than those derived from di-a-branched acids (19,21,168). The size of the a-branch also is important, since steric acceleration of homolysis occurs with increasing branch size (236). Suitably substituted peroxyesters show rate enhancements because of anchimeric assistance (168,213,237). 

The unsaturation present at the end of the polyether chain acts as a chain terminator ia the polyurethane reaction and reduces some of the desired physical properties. Much work has been done ia iadustry to reduce unsaturation while continuing to use the same reactors and hoi ding down the cost. In a study (102) usiag 18-crown-6 ether with potassium hydroxide to polymerise PO, a rate enhancement of approximately 10 was found at 110°C and slightly higher at lower temperature. The activation energy for this process was found to be 65 kj/mol (mol ratio, r = 1.5 crown ether/KOH) compared to 78 kj/mol for the KOH-catalysed polymerisation of PO. It was also feasible to prepare a PPO with 10, 000 having narrow distribution at 40°C with added crown ether (r = 1.5) (103). The polymerisation rate under these conditions is about the same as that without crown ether at 80°C. 

Pyrotechnic mixtures may also contain additional components that are added to modify the bum rate, enhance the pyrotechnic effect, or serve as a binder to maintain the homogeneity of the blended mixture and provide mechanical strength when the composition is pressed or consoHdated into a tube or other container. These additional components may also function as oxidizers or fuels in the composition, and it can be anticipated that the heat output, bum rate, and ignition sensitivity may all be affected by the addition of another component to a pyrotechnic composition. An example of an additional component is the use of a catalyst, such as iron oxide, to enhance the decomposition rate of ammonium perchlorate. Diatomaceous earth or coarse sawdust may be used to slow up the bum rate of a composition, or magnesium carbonate (an acid neutralizer) may be added to help stabilize mixtures that contain an acid-sensitive component such as potassium chlorate. Binders include such materials as dextrin (partially hydrolyzed starch), various gums, and assorted polymers such as poly(vinyl alcohol), epoxies, and polyesters. Polybutadiene mbber binders are widely used as fuels and binders in the soHd propellant industry. The production of colored flames is enhanced by the presence of chlorine atoms in the pyrotechnic flame, so chlorine donors such as poly(vinyl chloride) or chlorinated mbber are often added to color-producing compositions, where they also serve as fuels. 

Studies of reaction mechanisms ia O-enriched water show the foUowiag cleavage of dialkyl sulfates is primarily at the C—O bond under alkaline and acid conditions, and monoalkyl sulfates cleave at the C—O bond under alkaline conditions and at the S—O bond under acid conditions (45,54). An optically active half ester (j -butyl sulfate [3004-76-0]) hydroly2es at 100°C with iaversion under alkaline conditions and with retention plus some racemization under acid conditions (55). Effects of solvent and substituted stmcture have been studied, with moist dioxane giving marked rate enhancement (44,56,57). Hydrolysis of monophenyl sulfate [4074-56-0] has been similarly examined (58). 

Substituted tetrazoles readily exchange the 5-hydrogen for deuterium in aqueous solution. A major rate-enhancing effect is observed with copper(II) or zinc ions due to complexation with the heterocycle. The rate of base-induced proton-deuterium exchange of 1-methyltetrazole is 10 times faster than 2-methyltetrazole (77AHC(2l)323). 

Table 7 also indicates that the rate enhancements for a 3- and 5-methyl group vary significantly among 1,2-azoles. The difference between the increments in log units for a 3-and 5-methyl group, which should vary directly with bond fixation in the ground state, is larger for isoxazole (1.4) than for pyrazole (0.7) and for isothiazole (0.2). This indicates that the aromaticity increases in the same order and contributes the first quantitative evidence that the 1,2-azoles follow the same aromaticity order as furan < pyrrole < thiophene. 

The catalytic triad consists of the side chains of Asp, His, and Ser close to each other. The Ser residue is reactive and forms a covalent bond with the substrate, thereby providing a specific pathway for the reaction. His has a dual role first, it accepts a proton from Ser to facilitate formation of the covalent bond and, second, it stabilizes the negatively charged transition state. The proton is subsequently transferred to the N atom of the leaving group. Mutations of either of these two residues decrease the catalytic rate by a factor of 10 because they abolish the specific reaction pathway. Asp, by stabilizing the positive charge of His, contributes a rate enhancement of 10. ... 

Mutations in the specificity pocket of trypsin, designed to change the substrate preference of the enzyme, also have drastic effects on the catalytic rate. These mutants demonstrate that the substrate specificity of an enzyme and its catalytic rate enhancement are tightly linked to each other because both are affected by the difference in binding strength between the transition state of the substrate and its normal state. 

The cause of this effect has been called B-strain (back-strain), and in this exanqjle only a modest rate enhancement is observed. As the size of the groups is increased, the effect on rate becomes larger. When all three of the groups in the above example are t-butyl, the solvolysis occurs 13,500 times faster than in the case of t-butyl p-nitrobenzoate. ... 

The occurrence of nucleophilic participation is also indicated by a rate enhancement relative to the rate of solvolysis of n-butyl p-bromobenzenesulfonate. The solvolysis rates of a series of cu-mefhoxyall l p-bromobenzenesulfontes have been determined. A maximum rate is again observed where participation of a methoxy group via a live-membered ring is possible (see Table 5.20). 

Let us now return to the question of solvolysis and how it relates to the stracture under stable-ion conditions. To relate the structural data to solvolysis conditions, the primary issues that must be considered are the extent of solvent participation in the transition state and the nature of solvation of the cationic intermediate. The extent of solvent participation has been probed by comparison of solvolysis characteristics in trifluoroacetic acid with the solvolysis in acetic acid. The exo endo reactivity ratio in trifluoroacetic acid is 1120 1, compared to 280 1 in acetic acid. Whereas the endo isomer shows solvent sensitivity typical of normal secondary tosylates, the exx> isomer reveals a reduced sensitivity. This indicates that the transition state for solvolysis of the exo isomer possesses a greater degree of charge dispersal, which would be consistent with a bridged structure. This fact, along with the rate enhancement of the exo isomer, indicates that the c participation commences prior to the transition state being attained, so that it can be concluded that bridging is a characteristic of the solvolysis intermediate, as well as of the stable-ion structure. ... 

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