By analyzing various rearrangement processes, one can deduce the relative stabilities of the following 2-norbornyl cations (kcal/mol): 1,2-dimethyl, 0; 2-methyl, 1; 1-methyl, 6.5; and the parent 2-norbornyl, 8.5. Secondary 2-norbornyl cations have been assigned a "carbonium ion" structure and tertiary a "carbenium ion" structure. Using suitable model systems, an absolute rate comparison has been made of all three common rearrangement processes in the tertiary systems ("carbenium") with those already measured for the 2-norbornyl cation ("carbonium"). The activation free energies, ΔG≠, (in kcal/mol) were: Wagner–Meerwein (WM) shift: tertiary, < 4; secondary, < 4; endo-6,2-hydride shift: tertiary, 7.2; secondary, 5.8; exo-3,2-hydride shift: tertiary, 6.6; secondary, 11.4. A discussion of the structure of tertiary and secondary 2-norbornyl cations emphasizes the following points: (i) a rationalization of the rapid endo-6,2-hydride shift observed in norbornyl cations does not necessitate a protonated nortricyclene ("carbonium ion") postulate; (ii) on the basis of the results for acyclic cations and the 1,2-dimethyl-2-norbornyl cation, one would not expect to "freeze out" the WM shift in an equilibrating 2-norbornyl cation structure; (iii) the formation of nortricyclenes may be related to a partial C6—C2 bond in the ions; and (iv) the structure of the observable secondary 2-norbornyl cation probably involves partial C6—C2 bonding but, in our opinion, this does not require a symmetrical static formulation.
A Kinetic and Thermodynamic Behavioral Comparison of Observable Secondary and Tertiary 2-Norbornyl Cations