29 research outputs found
Stereochemistry of Nucleophilic Substitutions on Benzyl-silane and -germane Cation Radicals: Application of the Endocyclic Restriction Test
Benzyltrialkylgermane
cation radicals were generated and spectroscopically
characterized by nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. The
germane cation radicals were found to rapidly react with nucleophiles
(e.g., alcohols) in reactions that were first-order in cation radical
and first-order in nucleophile. The geometries of the transition states
for nucleophilic substitutions on benzyl-silane and -germane cation
radicals were investigated by using the endocyclic restriction test.
Cation radicals containing tethered nucleophiles that required endocyclic
transition states with small angles between the bond being formed
to the nucleophilic atom and the bond to the leaving group reacted
∼250 times more slowly than cation radicals with tethered nucleophiles
where a large bond angle can be accommodated. The results are consistent
with the nucleophile-assisted fragmentations proceeding through an
inversion transition state