Isotope Effect Studies on Elimination Reactions. XI. The Nature of the Transition State for the E2 Reaction of 2-Phenylethyldimethylanilinium Salts Containing Substituents in the Aniline Ring with Sodium Ethoxide in Ethanol

Abstract

Kinetic isotope effects have been determined for the E2 reactions of a series of 2-phenylethyldimethylanilinium salts containing substituents in the aniline ring with sodium ethoxide in ethanol at 40 °C. The nitrogen isotope effect, (k14/k15−1)100, is not very sensitive to substituent changes but appears to increase slightly with increasing electron-withdrawing ability of the substituents, i.e., 1.19 ± 0.07, 1.13 ± 0.06, 1.12 ± 0.08, 1.30 ± 0.07, and 1.32 ± 0.06 for p-OCH3, p-CH3, p-H, p-Cl, and, m-CF3, respectively. The hydrogen–deuterium isotope effects pass through a minimum in the region of the unsubstituted compound and increase both with increasing electron-donating as well as with electron-withdrawing power of the substituents, i.e. kH/kD = 4.70 ± 0.06, 4.61 ± 0.04, 4.51 ± 0.04, 4.53 ± 0.09, 5.00 ± 0.07, and 5.39 ± 0.07 for p-OCH3, p-CH3, p-H, p-Cl, m-CF3, and p-CF3, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of recent theoretical treatments of the effect of structural variations in the reactants on the nature of the transition state of E2 elimination reactions. The conclusion is reached that the transition states in the present reaction series can be characterized as 'central with slight carbanion character' and that the effect of a change in the ability of the leaving group on the structure of the transition state manifests itself mainly in the direction perpendicular to the reaction coordinate. A simple novel hypothesis is formulated which emphasizes the importance of the location of the transition state in a More O'Ferrall-type potential energy diagram in determining its sensitivity to structural changes in the reactants.