• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.9
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• pp.2483-2487
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• 2010

Pseudo-first-order rate constants ($k_{obsd}$) were measured spectrophotometrically for nucleophilic substitution reactions of 4-nitrophenyl picolinate (6) with alkali metal ethoxides (EtOM, $M^+\;=\;K^+$, $Na^+$ and $Li^+$) in anhydrous ethanol at $25.0{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$. The plot of $k_{obsd}$ vs. [EtOM] exhibits upward curvature regardless of the nature of $M^+$ ions. However, the plot for the reaction of 6 with EtOK is linear with significantly decreased $k_{obsd}$ values when 18-crown-6-ether (18C6, a complexing agent for $K^+$ ion) is added in the reaction medium. 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 ion-paired EtOM is 3~17 times more reactive than dissociated $EtO^-$. The reaction has been proposed to proceed through a 5-membered cyclic transition state, in which $M^+$ ion increases the electrophilicity of the reaction site. Interestingly, $Na^+$ ion exhibits the largest catalytic effect. The presence of a nitrogen atom in the pyridine moiety of 6 has been suggested to be responsible for the high $Na^+$ ion selectivity.

• 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.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1980

Solvolysis rate constants for methylchloroformate, methylthionochloroformate, methylthiolchloroformate and methyldithiochloroformate have been determined conductometrically in methanol, ethanol and ethanol-water mixtures and activation parameters have been derived. Results show that methylchloroformate solvolyzes through $S_N2$ process while methyldithiochloroformate solvolyzes by $S_N1$ process in all the solvent systems. The rate of hydrolysis decreased in the order, $CH_3S(CS)Cl>CH_3S(CO)Cl>CH_3O(CS)Cl>CH_3O(CO)Cl$ which corresponds to the order of decreasing $S_N1$ character. In methanol, $CH_3S(CS)Cl$ solvolyzed via the $S_N1$ mechanism while the others solvolyzed via the $S_N2$ process. In ethanol, however, $S_N2$ character was dominant for all the compounds, except methyldithiochloroformate, for which $S_N1$ character was still strong enough to accelerate the rate of ethanolysis. In ethanol-water mixtures, $CH_3S(CS)Cl$ and $CH_3S(CS)Cl$ solvolyzed via $S_N2$ process in ethanol-rich region while the $S_N1$ character increased greatly in water-rich region for the solvolysis of these compounds. The order of $S_N1$ character for solvolysis in water-rich region was the same as the order of hydrolysis rate.