Kinetics of the grignard reaction with silanes in diethyl ether and ether-toluene mixtures

Kinetics of the reactions of butylmagnesium chloride and phenylmagnesium bromide with tetraethoxysilane and methyltrichlorosilane was investigated in diethyl ether and diethyl ether-toluene mixtures. Replacement of ether by toluene significantly accelerates the reaction with alkoxysilanes, while no effect was found for the reaction with chlorosilanes. We established that the reaction with alkoxysilanes consists of replacement of a donor molecule at the magnesium center by the silane followed by subsequent rearrangement of the complex to products through a four-center transition state. Chlorosilanes react differently without solvent molecule replacement but also via a four-center transition state. Large negative activation entropies are consistent with formation of cyclic transition states. Small activation enthalpy values together with remarkable exothermicity point to early transition states of the reactions.     

Solvation Effects in the Grignard Reaction with Carbonyl Compounds

Ratios of the yields of addition and reduction products for the reactions of butylmagnesium chloride with diisopropyl ketone, methyl 2‐methylpropanoate, and isopropyl 2‐methylpropanoate in toluene were determined at different THF, diethyl ether, and tert‐butyl methyl ether contents in the Grignard reagent. Replacement of the alkoxy group in the ester leads to strikingly different results for very small additions of donors. The results are discussed in terms of the solvation of the species in the reaction mixture.     

Calculation of core-level electron spectra of ionic liquids

On the example of 40 ion pairs (5 cations times 8 anions), this study demonstrates how the core-level binding energy values can be calculated and used to plot theoretical spectra at low computational cost using density functional theory methods. Three approaches for obtaining the binding energy values are based on delta Kohn–Sham (ΔKS) calculations, 1s KS orbital energies, and atomic charges. The ΔKS results show reasonable agreement with the available experimental X-ray photoelectron data. The 1s KS orbital energies correlate well with the ΔKS results. Atomic charge correlation with ΔKS is improved by accounting for the charges of neighboring atoms. Assignment of binding energies to atoms and the applicability of the mentioned methods to model systems of ionic liquids are discussed.