The kinetics of proton and deuteron transfer from 1-(4-nitrophenyl)-1-nitroethane to1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene in aprotic solvents
1-(4-Nitrophenyl)-1-nitroethane reacts with the base1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) in both acetonitrile and toluene solvents in a normal second-order proton-transfer reaction, in contrast to its behaviour with the base 2,7-dimethoxy-1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene in acetonitrile.The primary isotope effect, kHlkD = 12.0 at 25° in toluene is very similar to that observed by other workers for the reaction of 4-nitrophenylnitromethane with DBU under the same conditions. In acetonitrile solvent a kHlkD ratio of 7.8 was found at 25 °C. The isotope effects on the activation parameters for the reaction in both solvents indicate that tunnelling of the proton through the potential energy barrier makes a significant contribution to the reaction rate.