Alkali Metal Ion Catalysis and Inhibition in Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions of 3,4-Dinitrophenyl Diphenylphosphinothioate with Alkali Metal Ethoxides in Anhydrous Ethanol: Effect of Changing Electrophilic Center from P=O to P=S

Pseudo-first-order rate constants ($k_{obsd}$) have been measured spectrophotometrically for nucleophilic substitution reactions of 3,4-dinitrophenyl diphenylphosphinothioate 9 with alkali metal ethoxides (EtOM, M = Li, Na, K) in anhydrous ethanol at $25.0{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$. The plot of $k_{obsd}$ vs. [EtOM] is linear for the reaction of 9 with EtOK. However, the plot curves downwardly for those with EtOLi and EtONa while it curves upwardly for the one with EtOK in the presence of 18-crown-6-ether (18C6). Dissection of $k_{obsd}$ into $k_{EtO^-}$ and $k_{EtOM}$ (i.e., the second-order rate constant for the reaction with dissociated $EtO^-$ and ion-paired EtOM, respectively) has revealed that the reactivity increases in the order $k_{EtOLi}$ < $k_{EtONa}$ < $k_{EtO^-}$ ${\approx}$ $k_{EtOK}$ < $k_{EtOK/18C6}$, indicating that the reaction is inhibited by $Li^+$ and $Na^+$ ions but is catalyzed by 18C6-crowned $K^+$ ion. The reactivity order found for the reactions of 9 contrasts to that reported previously for the corresponding reactions of 1, i.e., $k_{EtOLi}$ > $k_{EtONa}$ > $E_{EtOK}$ > $k_{EtO^-}$ ${\approx}$ $k_{EtOK/18C6}$, indicating that the effect of changing the electrophilic center from P=O to P=S on the role of $M^+$ ions is significant. A four-membered cyclic transition-state has been proposed to account for the $M^+$ ion effects found in this study, e.g., the polarizable sulfur atom of the P=S bond in 9 interacts strongly with the soft 18C6-crowned $K^+$ ion while it interacts weakly with the hard $Li^+$ and $Na^+$ ions.