Trends in alkyl substituent effects on nucleophilic reactions of carbonyl compounds: gas phase reactions between amines and the methoxy methyl cation.
The reactions of various amines (RNH(2); R = H, CH(3), C(2)H(5) and i-C(3)H(7)) with the methoxy methyl cation (CH(2)OCH(3)(+)) have been investigated using an FT-ICR mass spectrometer, and the experimental results are supplied with ab initio calculations. The amines show clear trends in their reactivities with variable degree of: 1) nucleophilic substitution, 2) addition-elimination and 3) hydride abstraction. In all cases addition-elimination dominates over nucleophilic substitution, and for R not equal H the observed reactions occur at the collisional limit. The potential energy profiles for all three reaction types correlate with the basicities of the amines; the more basic amine-the more favourable is the reaction; in other words: nucleophilicity follows basicity in the gas phase.
Bache-Andreassen
Lihn
L
Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, PO Box 1033 Blindern, N-0315 Oslo, Norway.
Uggerud
Einar
E