Norbornanes. Part 20. Inductivity and bridging in 2-norbornyl cations

The solvolysis rates and products of several 1-substituted 2exo- and 2-endo-norbornyl p-toluenesulfonates 7 and 8 , respectively, have been determined. Hydrolyses of these epimeric tosylates yielded rearranged products in varying amounts, except when the substituent was COOCH₃ or CN. The logarithms of the rate constants (log k) for the endo-series 8 correlated linearly with the corresponding inductive constants σ with a reaction constant ρ_I of ?1.24. On the other hand, log k values for the exo-series 7 appear to fit two regression lines, the first line (ρ_I = ?1.90) defined by the tosylates that ionize, with rearrangement, to the tertiary cations 11 , the second (ρ_I = ?1.86) by the tosylates 7 (R = H, COOCH³, and CN) that ionize to an asymmetrically bridged secondary cation 19 . These results confirm the unique participation of C(6) with a ρ_I of ?2.00 in the ionization of 2-exo-nor-bornyl tosylate.