Sulphonate esters solvolysis

Shiner and coworkers also studied optically active acyclic secondary sulphonate esters and found rate accelerations of about 100 in solvolysis in TFA at 25 °C compared with the alkyl reference (Table 8)93-95. From the product distribution and the stereochemical outcome of the solvolysis Shiner and coworkers proposed the reaction course outlined in equation 37 for the brosylate 23994. The transition state for the ionization adopts the W conformation and, to a smaller extent, the ewrfo-Sickle conformation and results in the formation of /-silicon carbocation which is stabilized by a percaudal interaction. The incoming nucleophile attacks the bridged ion from the front side94. 

The outcome of solvolysis of a sulphonic ester of a 19-hydroxy-steroid apparently depends upon functional groups in rings a and b. The 19-tosylates (501 3/3-OAc, 5a or SP-3-oxo) react by Wagner-Meerwein migration of C-1, giving the... 

TABLE 3. Extent of intermolecular exchange in the scrambling of sulphonate oxygen atoms during the solvolysis of sulphonate esters... 

Let us now consider Scheppele s discussion of the solvolysis of 2-d-exo- and -endo-bicyclo[2.2.1] hept-2-yl p-nitrobenzoates and p-toluenesulfonates. A maximum a isotope effect of 1 22 is suggested for kH/kD for the limiting solvolysis of simple secondary sulphonates (solvolyses where the rate is not affected by the nucleophilicity of the medium). The endo-esters yield a similar value which might be taken to imply the absence of steric hindrance in their reaction. However, whereas the maximum isotope effect for the simple sulphonates is believed to arise partly from an activated complex in the conversion of the internal ion pair into a solvent-separated ion pair, B - C, the effect in the endo-norbomyl compounds is suggested to arise during the transition state involved in the formation of the intimate ion pair, A - B. The latter is deduced from the fact that polarimetric and titrimetric rate constants are the same in acetic acid, aqueous acetone and ethanol (Winstein and Trifan, 1949 and 1952). If this is the case, the endo-effect of 1-20 should be... 

A new reactive leaving group, 2,2,2-trifluoroethanesulphonate (tresylate) has been described solvolysis rates for a range of substrates are intermediate between those of the corresponding toluene-/-sulphonate and tri-fluoromethanesulphonate esters. 

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