Molecular structure of nitrophenyl O‐glycosides in relation to their redox potentials

The effect of the non‐electroactive groups on the redox potentials of the active centres of 26 nitrophenyl O‐glycosides possessing various substituents has been studied electrochemically using cyclic voltammetry. The potentials of both redox processes, a two‐electron quasi‐reversible R‐NHOH/R‐NO (E_f) and four‐electron irreversible R‐NO₂/R‐NHOH (E_pc(I)) systems, have been determined and compared for all the compounds under investigations. The nitrophenyl O‐glycosides were chosen as model compounds as they significantly vary in many aspects of their structure such as: (i) the isomeric substitution of nitro group in benzene ring to the sugar moiety (ortho, meta and para isomers); (ii) the size of sugar moieties (the derivatives of mono‐ and disaccharides); (iii) the presence and absence of additional groups in saccharidic fragments (e.g. pentose and hexose); (iv) functionalisation of hydroxyl groups (free or acetylated hydroxyl groups) and (v) absolute configurations of selected sugar carbon atoms (e.g. the pairs of anomers). Among other effects, a significant variation in the increasing order of the two‐electron quasi‐reversible (E_f, ortho > meta > para) and four‐electron irreversible (E_pc(I), meta > ortho > para) redox processes has been found and explained taking into account the negative inductive effect (–I) caused by the glycosidic oxygen atom that facilitates the electroreduction of the nitro group, and the positive mesomeric effect (+M) which makes the electroreduction more difficult. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and electrochemical study of nitrophenyl derivatives of β‐cyclodextrin

A series of nitrophenyl β‐cyclodextrin derivatives: mono[6‐deoxy‐6‐(4‐nitrobenzamido)]‐per‐ O‐methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (R₁? Ph? NO₂), mono[6‐deoxy‐6‐(3‐nitrobenzamido)]‐per‐O‐methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (R₂? Ph? NO₂) and heptakis[6‐deoxy‐6‐(4‐nitrobenzamido)‐2,3‐di‐O‐methyl]‐β‐cyclodextrin [R₃? (Ph? NO₂)₇] were synthesized. Purity and composition of the obtained substances were checked. Electroreduction of nitro groups of the new synthesized compounds was investigated on mercury electrode using cyclic voltammetry and chronocoulometry. The parameters of the reduction processes of ? NO₂ groups of the investigated compounds were found not to be comparable to the reduction of nitrobenzene under the same experimental conditions. Moreover, the electroreduction of nitro groups in these nitrophenyl derivatives was dependent on pH, the type of the studied compound, and slightly on the solvent composition. All the reactants were strongly adsorbed on mercury electrode. In the case of R₃? (Ph? NO₂)₇, its seven nitro groups were reduced practically at the same potential, and no radical anion formation was observed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ethenyl indoles as neutral hydrophobic fluorescence probes

3‐(4‐Nitrophenylethenyl‐E)‐NH‐indole ( 1 ), 3‐(4‐nitrophenyl ethenyl‐E)‐N‐acetylindole ( 2 ), and 3‐(4‐nitrophenylethenyl‐E)‐N‐benzenesulfonylindole ( 3 ) are relatively less fluorescent in organic solvents, with fluorescence quantum yield (Φ_f) in the range of 0.002 to 0.066 depending on the solvent polarity. However, in bovine serum albumin (BSA)‐phosphate buffer, the fluorescence of these compounds gets drastically enhanced with Φ_f in the range of 0.21 to 0.67, depending on the substituent on the indolic nitrogen atom. Additionally, linear increase in the fluorescence intensity of 2 and 3 occurs on increasing the BSA concentration. These fluorescence properties together with the neutral, hydrophobic nature of these compounds make these fluorophores good fluorescence probe for studying the micropolarity of proteins like BSA and in general the ligand–protein interactions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bichromophoric behavior of nitrophenyl‐triazene anions: a resonance Raman spectroscopy investigation

Highly delocalized molecular frameworks with intense charge transfer transitions, known as push‐pull systems, are of central interest in many areas of chemistry, as is the case of nitrophenyl‐triazene derivatives. The 1,3‐bis(2‐nitrophenyl)triazene and 1,3‐bis(4‐nitrophenyl)triazene were investigated by electronic (UV‐Vis) and resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopies. The bichromophoric behavior of 1,3‐bis(4‐nitrophenyl)triazene anion opens the possibility of tuning with visible radiation, two distinct electronic states. The RR profiles of nitrophenyl‐triazene derivatives clearly show that the first allowed electronic state can be assigned to a charge transfer from the ring π system to the NO₂ moiety (ca 520 nm), while the second, as a charge transfer from N₃⁻ to the aromatic ring (ca 390 nm). In the para‐substituted derivative, a more efficient electron transfer and a greater energy separation between the two excited states are observed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Kinetics and thermodynamics of reversible disproportionation–comproportionation in redox triad oxoammonium cations – nitroxyl radicals – hydroxylamines

Kinetics and equilibrium of the acid‐catalyzed disproportionation of cyclic nitroxyl radicals R₂NO^? to oxoammonium cations R₂NO⁺ and hydroxylamines R₂NOH is defined by redox and acid–base properties of these compounds. In a recent work (J. Phys. Org. Chem. 2014, 27, 114‐120), we showed that the kinetic stability of R₂NO^? in acidic media depends on the basicity of the nitroxyl group. Here, we examined the kinetics of the reverse comproportionation reaction of R₂NO⁺ and R₂NOH to R₂NO^? and found that increasing in –I‐effects of substituents greatly reduces the overall equilibrium constant of the reaction K₄. This occurs because of both the increase of acidity constants of hydroxyammonium cations K_3H+ and the difference between the reduction potentials of oxoammonium cations E_R2NO+/R2NO? and nitroxyl radicals E_R2NO?/R2NOH. pH dependences of reduction potentials of nitroxyl radicals to hydroxylamines E_1/3Σ and bond dissociation energies D(O–H) for hydroxylamines R₂NOH in water were determined. For a wide variety of piperidine‐ and pyrrolidine‐1‐oxyls values of pK_3H+ and E_R2NO+/R2NO? correlate with each other, as well as with the equilibrium constants K₄ and the inductive substituent constants σ_I. The correlations obtained allow prediction of the acid–base and redox characteristics of redox triads R₂NO^?–R₂NO⁺–R₂NOH. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A natural bond orbital analysis of aryl‐substituted polyfluorinated carbanions: negative hyperconjugation

Aryl‐substituted polyfluorinated carbanions, ArCHR_f^? where R_f = CF₃ ( 1 ), C₂F₅ ( 2 ), i‐C₃F₇ ( 3 ), and t‐C₄F₉ ( 4 ), were analyzed by means of the natural bond orbital (NBO) theory at the B3LYP/6‐311+G(d,p) computational level. A lone pair NBO at the formal anionic center carbon (Cα) was not found in the Lewis structure. Instead, significant donor/acceptor NBO interactions between π(Cα‐C1) and σ*(Cβ‐F) or σ*(Cβ‐Cγ) were observed for 1 , 2 , 3a (strong electron‐withdrawing substituent, from p‐CF₃ to p‐NO₂), and 4 . Their second‐order donor/acceptor perturbation interaction energy, E(2), values decreased with the increase of the stability of carbanions. A larger E(2) value corresponds to longer Cβ‐F and Cβ‐Cγ bonds and a shorter Cα‐Cβ bond, indicating that the E(2) values can be associated with the negative hyperconjugation of the Cβ‐F and Cβ‐Cγ bonds. In accordance with this, the E(2) values for π(Cα‐C1) → σ*(Cβ‐F) were linearly correlated with the ΔG^o_β‐F values (an empirical measure of β‐fluorine negative hyperconjugation obtained from an increased acidity). In 3b (weak electron‐withdrawing substituents, from H to m‐NO₂) very large E(2) values for LP(Fβ) → π*(Cα‐Cβ) were obtained. This was attributed to the Cβ‐F bond cleavage and the Cα‐Cβ double bond formation in the Lewis structure that is caused by the extremely strong negative hyperconjugation of the Cβ‐F bond.     

Influence of ortho substituents on 17O NMR chemical shifts in phenyl esters of substituted benzoic acids

¹⁷O NMR spectra for 29 phenyl esters of ortho‐, para,‐ and meta‐substituted benzoic acids, X‐C₆H₄CO₂C₆H₅, at natural abundance in acetonitrile were recorded. The δ(¹⁷O) values of carbonyl and the single‐bonded oxygens for para derivatives gave good correlation with the σ⁺ constants. The δ(¹⁷O) values for meta derivatives correlated well with the σ_m constants. The influence of ortho substituents on the δ(¹⁷O) values of carbonyl oxygen and the single‐bonded oxygens was analyzed using the Charton equation containing the inductive, σ_I, resonance, σ⁺_R, and steric, E, substituent constants. For ortho derivatives, excellent correlations with the Charton equation were obtained when the data treatment was performed separately for derivatives containing electron‐donating +R and electron‐attracting ?R substituents. The electron‐donating substituents in ortho‐, meta‐, and para‐substituted esters resulted in shielding of the ¹⁷O signal and the electron‐withdrawing groups caused deshielding. In phenyl ortho‐substituted benzoates, the substituent‐induced positive inductive (ρ_I > 0), resonance (ρ_R > 0), and steric (δ_orthoE > 0) effects were found. The steric interaction of ortho substituents with ester group was found to produce a deshielding effect on the carbonyl and single‐bonded oxygens. For ortho derivatives with ?R substituents, the resonance term was insignificant and the steric term was ca. twice weaker as compared to that for derivatives with +R substituents. The δ(¹⁷O) values for ortho‐substituted nitrobenzenes, acetophenones, and benzoyl chlorides showed a good correlation with the Charton equation as well. In ortho‐substituted nitrobenzenes the inductive, resonance and steric effect were found to be ca. 1.7 times stronger as compared to that for phenyl ortho‐substituted benzoates. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gas‐phase acidity of bis[(perfluoroalkyl)sulfonyl]imides. Effects of the perfluoroalkyl group on the acidity

The gas‐phase acidity (GA) values were determined for a number of perfluoroalkyl‐substituted sulfonylimides by measuring proton‐transfer equilibria using a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT‐ICR) mass spectrometer. The GA scale below 286.5 kcal mol^?1 for (CF₃SO₂)₂NH was extended and partially revised. The GA value of (C₄F₉SO₂)₂NH which is currently the strongest acid was revised from 284.1 to 278.6 kcal mol^?1. The effect of fluorine atoms on the acidity of perfluoroalkyl‐substituted sulfonylimides was described with the following model where N_(α), N_(β), N_(γ), and N_(δ) are the numbers of fluorine atoms at α, β, γ, and δ position in R_fSO₂ (R_f = perfluoroalkyl group), respectively. This correlation indicates that the electron‐withdrawing ability of the R_fSO₂ group can be described in terms of the number of fluorine atoms in the perfluoroalkyl group corrected by taking into account their positions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of N‐Substitution on Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) Behavior of 2‐(2‐Nitrophenyl)‐1H‐benzimidazole Derivatives

Abstract

The synthesis of 2‐(2‐nitrophenyl)‐1H‐benzimidazole (1), 1‐benzoyl‐2‐(2‐nitrophenyl)‐1H ‐benzimidazole (2), and 1‐acetyl‐2‐(2‐nitrophenyl)‐1H‐benzimidazole (3) is reported. Stable radical anions (1 ^·?, 2 ^·?, and 3 ^·?) were generated by chemical reduction in DMSO and studied by ESR spectroscopy. The interpretation of the ESR spectra was done by means of computational simulation process. Hyperfine coupling constants were assigned by comparison with related compounds, and on the basis of calculation based on SCF INDO MO method in the unrestricted Hartree–Fock scheme.     

Residual‐density mapping and site‐selective determination of anomalous scattering factors to examine the origin of the Fe K pre‐edge peak of magnetite

The electron‐density distribution and the contribution to anomalous scattering factors for Fe ions in magnetite have been analyzed by X‐ray resonant scattering at the pre‐edge of Fe K absorption. Synchrotron X‐ray experiments were carried out using a conventional four‐circle diffractometer in the right‐handed circular polarization. Difference‐Fourier synthesis was applied with a difference in structure factors measured on and off the pre‐edge (E_on = 7.1082 keV, E_off = 7.1051 keV). Electron‐density peaks due to X‐ray resonant scattering were clearly observed for both A and B sites. The real part of the anomalous scattering factor f′ has been determined site‐independently, based on the crystal‐structure refinements, to minimize the squared residuals at the Fe K pre‐edge. The f′ values obtained at E_on and E_off are ?7.063 and ?6.682 for the A site and ?6.971 and ?6.709 for the B site, which are significantly smaller than the values of ?6.206 and ?5.844, respectively, estimated from the Kramers–Kronig transform. The f′ values at E_on are reasonably smaller than those at E_off. Our results using a symmetry‐based consideration suggest that the origin of the pre‐edge peak is Fe ions occupying both A and B sites, where p–d mixing is needed with hybridized electrons of Fe in both sites overlapping the neighbouring O atoms.     

Comparative studies on CH⋯F− hydrogen bond formation in benzene and exocyclically substituted pentafulvene derivatives

Optimization of CH?F^? complexes of exo‐substituted pentafulvene and meta‐substituted and para‐substituted benzene (substituents: NMe₂, NHMe, NH₂, NHOH, OH, OMe, Br, Cl, F, Me, CCH, CF₃, CONH₂, COMe, CHO, NO₂, NO, and CN) have been performed at the density functional theory level by using Becke hybrid B3LYP functional with 6‐311++G(d,p) basis set. The acidity of the ring CH bond in benzene and fulvene are of similar magnitude, whereas the acidity of the fulvene exocyclic CH₂ group is significantly higher. Various properties based on the H?F^? hydrogen bond (bond length, electron density at BCP, and bond dissociation energy), and the whole molecule (HOMA, sEDA, pEDA, substituent active region, and substituent effect stabilization energy) were analyzed and compared between the fulvene and benzene systems. Sensitivity of the ring CH?F^? hydrogen bond and other substituent dependent properties to substituent effect is substantially greater in fulvene than that of benzene derivatives. In fulvene, the 3‐position is more sensitive than the 4‐position. The sEDA and pEDA parameters used to measure sigma‐electron and pi‐electron excess/deficiency of the ring are mutually correlated for the studied systems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intramolecular Diels–Alder reaction in enyne–allenes: a computational investigation and comparison with the Myers–Saito and Schmittel reactions

The reaction mechanisms as well as substituted effect and solvent effect of the enyne–allenes are investigated by Density Functional Theory (DFT) method and compared with the Myers–Saito and Schmittel reactions. The Myers–Saito reaction of non‐substituted enyne–allenes is kinetically and thermodynamically favored as compared to the Schmittel reaction; while the concerted [4 + 2] cycloaddition is only 1.32 kcal/mol higher than the C₂? C₇ cyclization and more exothermic (Δ_RE = ?69.38 kcal/mol). For R₁ = CH₃ and t‐Bu, the increasing barrier of the C₂? C₇ cyclization is higher than that for the C₂? C₆ cyclization because of the steric effect, so the increased barrier of the [4 + 2] cycloaddition is affected by such substituted electron‐releasing group. Moreover, the strong steric effect of R₁ = t‐Bu would shift the C₂? C₇ cyclization to the [4 + 2] cycloaddition. On the other hand, for R₁ = Ph, NH₂, O^?, NO₂, and CN substituents, the barrier of the C₂? C₆ cyclization would be more diminished than the C₂? C₇ cyclization due to strong mesomeric effect; the reaction path of C₂? C₇ cyclization would also shift to the [4 + 2] cycloaddition. The solvation does not lead to significant changes in the potential‐energy surface of the reaction except for the more polar surrounding solvent such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), or water. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Theoretical investigations on 4,4′,5,5′‐tetranitro‐2,2′‐1H,1′H‐2,2′‐biimidazole derivatives as potential nitrogen‐rich high energy materials

The ―NH₂, ―NO₂, ―NHNO₂, ―C(NO₂)₃ and ―CF(NO₂)₂ substitution derivatives of 4,4′,5,5′‐tetranitro‐2,2′‐1H,1′H‐2,2′‐biimidazole were studied at B3LYP/aug‐cc‐pVDZ level of density functional theory. The crystal structures were obtained by molecular mechanics (MM) methods. Detonation properties were evaluated using Kamlet–Jacobs equations based on the calculated density and heat of formation. The thermal stability of the title compounds was investigated via the energy gaps (?E_{LUMO ? HOMO}) predicted. Results show that molecules T5 (D = 10.85 km·s^?1, P = 57.94 GPa) and T6 (D = 9.22 km·s^?1, P = 39.21 GPa) with zero or positive oxygen balance are excellent candidates for high energy density oxidizers (HEDOs). All of them appear to be potential explosives compared with the famous ones, octahydro‐1,3,5,7‐tetranitro‐1,3,5,7‐tetraazocane (HMX, D = 8.96 km·s^?1, P = 35.96 GPa) and hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (CL‐20, D = 9.38 km·s^?1, P = 42.00 GPa). In addition, bond dissociation energy calculation indicates that T5 and T6 are also the most thermally stable ones among the title compounds. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Substituent effects on acidity of aryl‐substituted fluoroalkanes: a computational study

The gas‐phase acidities (GA) of various aryl‐substituted fluoroalkanes, XC₆H₄CH(R¹)R², were calculated at the B3LYP/6‐311 + G(d,p)//B3LYP/6‐311 + G(d,p). The acidity values of alkanes having a common substituent X varied significantly with the change of R¹ and R². Their changes in acidity of 1 and 2 having two strong electron‐withdrawing groups (CF₃ or C₂F₅) at the deprotonation site and 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 having no fluorine atom at β‐position were linearly correlated with the corrected number of fluorine atoms contained in the fluorinated alkyl group (R² > 0.999). On the other hand, the GA values of β‐fluorine substituted alkanes ( 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ) deviated in a stronger acid direction from the line. The enhanced acidity was attributed to the additional stabilization of the conjugate anion caused by the β‐fluorine negative hyperconjugation. The magnitude of β‐fluorine negative hyperconjugation of the fluorinated alkyl group (ΔG^o_β‐F) given by the deviations from the line decreased with increasing electron‐withdrawing ability of substituent X on the benzene ring, indicating that β‐fluorine negative hyperconjugation competes with the electronic effect of the substituent X. The GA_el values obtained by subtraction ΔG^o_β‐F from the apparent GA value were successfully correlated in terms of the Yukawa–Tsuno equation. The obtained ρ_el and r^?_el values were linearly related to the GA_el value of the respective phenyl‐substituted fluoroalkanes, supporting our previous conclusion that the ρ and r^? values for the substituent effect caused by the electronic effects of the substituent on the acidity are determined by the thermodynamic stability of the parent ion (ring substituent = H). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental Evidence of Parametric Instabilities in an Unmagnetized Plasma Subjected to a Strong H.F. Electric Field

Experimental evidence of parametric excitation, by an intense external H.F. field, of an electron surface mode and an ion wave is presented. The pumping electromagnetic energy density is equal to or slightly larger than the thermal energy density of the electrons. The value of f_pc/f₀ (electron plasma frequency/external field frequency) is that for an electron surface wave. Depending on the pressure and field intensity, this decay instability can lead to three types of low frequency oscillations, with frequencies close to the ion plasma frequency. Two of these are described by Aliev and Silin's intense field theory: one is the volume ion plasma oscillation and the other a surface ion plasma oscillation. The third corresponds to no known ion eigenmode. Several other features of the theory by Aliev and co-workers are also confirmed experimentally, such as the harmonic excitation of the instability (nf₀ ≈ f_pe/√2, where n is an integer), the instability amplitude as a function of f_pe/f₀ (above threshold conditions), the value of the mismatch parameter as a function of field strength and ion mass, and the existence of a fine structure corresponding to the symmetric and antisymmetric electron surface oscillations. Even at high pump field strengths, the decay products are nearly monochromatic i.e. the plasma does not become turbulent.     

Disorder‐induced Raman scattering effects in one‐dimensional ZnO nanostructures by incorporation and anisotropic distribution of Dy and Li codopants

In Dy³⁺ and Li⁺ codoped ZnO nanowires, the additives accumulate preferentially in {0001} planes, resulting in serious breakdown of the translational symmetry in ab plane and modification of the phonon oscillation field. Not only acoustic overtones, silent optical modes, surface optical (SO) phonon modes, and multi‐phonon processes can be effectively observed in the nonresonant Raman scattering (RS) and the Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, but the quasi‐LO and TO modes of mixed A₁ and E₁ symmetry also show a noticeable red shift from E₁ symmetry (in ab plane) to A₁ symmetry (along c axis). The presence of dislocations and internal strain at the surface layer rich in additives, coming from the segregation of additives, forms a quasi‐bilayer system, resulting in the appearance and enhancement of SO phonon modes in RS and FTIR spectra. The Fano interference, originating from the interaction between the discrete scattering from phonons and the continuum scattering from laser‐induced electrons in the doped nanostructures, leads to typical asymmetric lineshapes on the lower wavenumber sides. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of the structure of nitroxyl radicals on the kinetics of their acid‐catalyzed disproportionation

Acid‐catalyzed disproportionation of cyclic nitroxyl radicals R₂NO^? includes the half‐reactions of their oxidation to oxoammonium cations R₂NO⁺ and reduction to hydroxylamines R₂NOH. For many nitroxyl radicals, this reaction is characterized by its ~100% reversibility. Quantitative characteristics of acid–base and redox properties of the whole redox triad may be obtained from research of kinetics and equilibrium of this reaction. Here, we have examined the kinetics for the disproportionation of twenty piperidine‐, pyrroline‐, pyrrolidine‐, and imidazoline nitroxyl radicals in aqueous H₂SO₄, and interpreted it in terms of the excess acidity function X. The rate‐limiting step of this reaction is R₂NO^? oxidation by its protonated counterpart R₂NOH^+?. Kinetic stability of R₂NO^? in acidic media depends on the basicity of nitroxyl group. This basicity is influenced predominantly by protonation of another, more basic group in radical structure, and its proximity to nitroxyl group. The discovered estimates of pK values for radical cations R₂NOH^+? (from ?5.8 to ?12.0) indicate a very low basicity of nitroxyl groups in all commonly used R₂NO^?. For the first time, a linear correlation is obtained between the one‐electron reduction potentials of oxoammonium cations and the basicity of nitroxyl groups of related radicals. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Steric effects on the mechanism of reaction of nucleophilic substitution of β‐substituted alkoxyvinyl trifluoromethyl ketones with four secondary amines

The kinetics of the reaction of β‐substituted β‐alkoxyvinyl trifluoromethyl ketones R¹O‐CR²?CH‐COCF₃ ( 1a – e ) [( 1a ), R¹?C₂H₅, R²?H; ( 1b ), R¹?R²?CH₃; ( 1c ), R¹?C₂H₅, R²?C₆H₅; ( 1d ), R¹?C₂H₅, R²?V^?pNO₂C₆H₄; ( 1e ), R¹?C₂H₅, R²?C(CH₃)₃] with four aliphatic amines ( 2a – d ) [( 2a ), (C₂H₅)₂NH; ( 2b ), (i‐C₃H₇)₂NH; ( 2c ), (CH₂)₅NH; ( 2d ), O(CH₂CH₂)₂NH] was studied in two aprotic solvents, hexane and acetonitrile. The least reactive stereoisomeric form of ( 1a – d ) was the most populated ( E‐s‐Z‐o‐Z ) form, whereas in ( 1e ), the more reactive form ( Z‐s‐Z‐o‐Z ) dominated. The reactions studied proceeded via common transition state formation whose decomposition occurred by ‘uncatalyzed’ and/or ‘catalyzed’ route. Shielding of the reaction centre by bulky β‐substituents lowered abruptly both k′ (‘uncatalyzed’ rate constant) and k″ (‘catalyzed’ rate constant) of this reaction. Bulky amines reduced k″ to a greater extent than k′ as a result of an additional steric retardation to the approach of the bulky amine to its ammonium ion in the transition state. An increase in the electron‐withdrawing ability of the β‐substituent increased ‘uncatalyzed’ k′ due to the acceleration of the initial nucleophile attack (k₁) and ‘uncatalyzed’ decomposition of transition state (k₂) via promoting electrophilic assistance (through transition state 8 ). The amine basicity determined the route of the reaction: the higher amine basicity, the higher k₃/k₂ ratio (a measure of the ‘catalyzed’ route contribution as compared to the ‘uncatalyzed’ process) was. ‘Uncatalyzed’ route predominated for all reactions; however in polar acetonitrile the contribution of the ‘catalyzed’ route was significant for amines with high pK_a and small bulk. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.