Isotope effects in nucleophilic substitution reactions. VI. The effect of ion pairing on the transition state structure of SN2 reactions
Keyword(s):
Ion Pair
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Spectroscopic and conductivity studies of sodium thiophenoxide solutions in four different solvents and the secondary α-deuterium kinetic isotope effects found in the presence of 15-crown-5 ether demonstrate that the secondary α-deuterium kinetic isotope effect and transition state structure for the SN2 reaction between sodium thiophenoxide and n-butyl chloride are significantly different, depending on whether the ionic reactant is a solvent-separated ion-pair complex or a free ion. In all three solvents in which the form of the ionic reactant changes, a smaller isotope effect and tighter transition state are found for the reaction with the ion-pair complex.