Reactivity of Water and Alcohols toward Carbocations Generated in the Photolysis of 2,2,4,6-Tetramethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline

The rate constants of the decay of carbocation generated in the photolysis of 2,2,4,6-tetramethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline and the composition of reaction products were studied as a function of solvent composition in the mixtures H₂O–ROH and MeOH–ROH (R = Et, n-Pr, and i-Pr). The rate constants of carbocation decay in alcohols are more than 20 times higher than the corresponding rate constants in water. As follows from the composition of the products obtained in the photolysis in the alcohol–water mixtures, MeOH is only 1.4 times more reactive than water, and EtOH and n-PrOH are even less active than water. The inconsistency in the product composition in the mixtures and the values of the observed rate constants in these solvents was explained by the two-step mechanism of the reaction: the reversible formation of an adduct of the carbocation with the solvent components and subsequent proton transfer to the solvent to form the final product, with the first step determining the product composition and the second step determining the rate of carbocation decay. The relative rate constants of alcohols and water were determined for the two steps. The preferred solvation of the carbocation with water also contributes significantly to the reaction kinetics and the product composition in the water–alcohol solutions.