• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.1295-1296
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• 2008

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.519-523
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• 2012

A kinetic study is reported on nucleophilic displacement reactions of benzyl 2-pyridyl carbonate 6 with alkalimetal ethoxides, EtOM (M = Li, Na, and K), in anhydrous ethanol at $25.0{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$. The plots of pseudo-firstorder rate constant $k_{obsd}$ vs. [EtOM] curve upward, a typical phenomenon reported previously for alkaline ethanolysis of esters in which alkali-metal ions behave as a Lewis-acid catalyst. The kobsd value for the reaction of 6 with a fixed EtOK concentration decreases rapidly upon addition of 18-crown-6-ether (18C6), a complexing agent for $K^+$ ion up to [18C6]/[EtOK] = 1.0 and then remains constant thereafter, indicating that the catalytic effect exerted by K+ ion disappears in the presence of excess 18C6. The reactivity of EtOM towards 6 increases in the order $EtO^-$ < EtOLi < EtONa < EtOK, which is contrasting to the reactivity order reported for the corresponding reactions of 2-pyridyl benzoate 4, i.e., $EtO^-$ < EtOK < EtONa < EtOLi. Besides, 6 is 1.7 and 3.5 times more reactive than 4 towards dissociated $EtO^-$ and ion-paired EtOK, respectively. The reactivity difference and the contrasting metal-ion selectivity are discussed in terms of electronic effects and transition-state structures.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.2929-2933
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• 2010

Pseudo-first-order rate constants ($k_{obsd}$) have been measured for nucleophilic substitution reactions of 2-pyridyl benzoate 5 with alkali metal ethoxides (EtOM, M = Li, Na, K) in anhydrous ethanol. The plots of $k_{obsd}$ vs. $[EtOM]_o$ are curved upwardly but linear in the excess presence of 18-crown-6-ether (18C6) with significant decreased $k_{obsd}$ values in the reaction with EtOK. The $k_{obsd}$ value for the reaction of 5 with a given EtONa concentration decreases steeply upon addition of 15-crown-5-ether (15C5) to the reaction medium up to ca. [15C5]/$[EtONa]_o$ = 1, and remains nearly constant thereafter, indicating that $M^+$ ions catalyze the reaction in the absence of the complexing agents. Dissection $k_{obsd}$ into $k_{EtO^-}$- and $k_{EtOM}$, i.e., the second-order rate constants for the reaction with the dissociated $EtO^-$ and the ion-paired EtOM, respectively has revealed that ion-paired EtOM is 3.2 - 4.6 times more reactive than dissociated $EtO^-$. It has been concluded that $M^+$ ions increase the electrophilicity of the reaction center through a 6-membered cyclic transition state. This idea has been examined from the corresponding reactions of 4-pyridyl benzoate 6, which cannot form such a 6-membered cyclic transition state.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.1525-1529
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• 2013

Pseudo-first-order rate constants ($k_{obsd}$) have been measured spectrophotometrically for the nucleophilic substitution reactions of 2-pyridyl thionobenzoate (5b) with alkali-metal ethoxides (EtOM, $M^+=Li^+$, $Na^+$, $K^+$, and 18-crown-6-ether complexed $K^+$) in anhydrous ethanol at $25.0{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$. The plots of $k_{obsd}$ vs. $[EtOM]_o$ curve upward regardless of the nature of the $M^+$ ions, while those of $k_{obsd}/[EtO^-]_{eq}$ vs. $[EtO^-]_{eq}$ are linear with a positive intercept. Dissection of $k_{obsd}$ into $k_{EtO^-}$ and $k_{EtOM}$ (i.e., the second-order rate constants for the reactions with the dissociated $EtO^-$ and ion-paired EtOM, respectively) has revealed that the ion-paired EtOM is more reactive than the dissociated $EtO^-$, and $M^+$ ions catalyze the reactions in the order $K^+$ < $Na^+$ < $Li^+$ < 18C6-complexed $K^+$. The plot of log $k_{EtOM}$ vs. $1/r_{Stokes}$ results in an excellent linear correlation, indicating that the reactions are catalyzed by the solvated $M^+$ ions but not by the bare $M^+$ ions. The reactions of 5b with EtOM have been concluded to proceed through a six-membered cyclic TS, in which the solvated $M^+$ ions increase the electrophilicity of the reaction center and the nucleofugality of the leaving group.