A contribution of Physical Organic Chemistry to systematizing Organic Synthesis. Cordial
congratulations on the occasion of the Golden Anniversary of Synthesis.
Published as part of the 50 Years SYNTHESIS – Golden Anniversary Issue
Abstract
The kinetics of the reactions of trimethylsilyl enol ethers and enamines (derived
from deoxybenzoin, indane-1-one, and α-tetralone) with reference electrophiles (p-quinone methides, benzhydrylium and indolylbenzylium ions) were measured by conventional
and stopped-flow photometry in acetonitrile at 20 °C. The resulting second-order rate
constants were subjected to a least-squares minimization based on the correlation
equation lg k = s
N(N + E) for determining the reactivity descriptors N and s
N of the silyl enol ethers and enamines. The relative reactivities of structurally
analogous silyl enol ethers, enamines, and enolate anions towards carbon-centered
electrophiles are determined as 1, 107, and 1014, respectively. A survey of synthetic applications of enolate ions and their synthetic
equivalents shows that their behavior can be properly described by their nucleophilicity
parameters, which therefore can be used for designing novel synthetic transformations.
Key words
alkylation - enols - kinetics - linear free energy relationship - reactivity scales