| Abstract: | The pyrolysis reaction of carpronium chloride and its structurally related compounds, which were trimethyl-aminoalkyl acid alkyl esters involving two, three or four skeletal methylene groups, have been investigated by pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The results indicated that the reaction modes of these ammonium compounds were essentially dependent on the number of skeletal methylene groups, and secondarily on the length of the carbon chain of the ester group. These phenomena have been interpreted in terms of electronic and steric contributions for the ionic elimination reaction. The electronic and steric effects on the orientation of the reaction are discussed on the basis of the atomic population calculated by the CNDO/2 method. |
