Polar Effects in the Solvolysis of 4-Substituted Bicyclo [2.2.2]octyl p-Nitrobenzenesulfonates. Polar effects. VII

Hydrolysis of bicyclo[2.2.2]octylp-nitrobenzenesulfonate ( 14a , X = p-NO₂C₆H₄SO₃), and nineteen 4-R-substituted derivatives 14b–14t in 70% aqueous dioxane yield the corresponding bicyclo[2.2.2]octanols 14 (X = OH), exclusively. The 7-center fragmentation to 1,4-dimethylidene-cyclohexane ( 15 ) is not observed. The logarithms of most of the rate constants, measured in 80% ethanol, correlate well with the corresponding inductive substituent constants σ of R. Hence, in these cases ionization rate is controlled by the inductive effect of R only. Poor correlations result when the substituents are potentially electrofugal groups, such as COO^?, CH₂OH, CH₂NH₂, CONH₂ and H, the deviations from the inductive regression line corresponding to rate enhancements of 1.6 to 8. These exalted substituent effects are tentatively ascribed to extended hyperconjugation involving two σ-bonds. This study corroborates previous evidence that the inductive effect alone does not fully account for the polar effect of some substituents in reactions involving carbocations.