Alkali‐Metal Ion Catalysis and Inhibition in SNAr Displacement: Relative Stabilization of Ground State and Transition State Determines Catalysis and Inhibition in SNAr Reactivity

We report here the first observation of alkali‐metal ion catalysis and inhibition in S_NAr reactions. The plot of k_obsd versus alkali‐metal ethoxide] exhibits downward curvature for the reactions of 1‐(4‐nitrophenoxy)‐2,4‐dinitrobenzene with EtOLi, EtONa, and EtOK, but upward curvature for the corresponding reaction with EtOK in the presence of 18‐crown‐6‐ether (18C6). Dissection of k_obsd into the second‐order rate constants for the reactions with the dissociated EtO^? and the ion‐paired EtOM (i.e., k and k_EtOM, respectively) has revealed that the reactivity increases in the order EtOLi<EtONa<EtOK<EtO^?<EtOK/18C6. This indicates that the reaction is inhibited by Li⁺, Na⁺, and K⁺ ions but is catalyzed by 18C6 K⁺ ion. The reactions of 1‐(Y‐substituted‐phenoxy)‐2,4‐dinitrobenzenes have been proposed to proceed through a stepwise mechanism, in which expulsion of the leaving group occurs after the rate‐determining step based on the kinetic result that σ^o constants exhibit a much better Hammett correlation than σ^? constants. Alkali‐metal ion catalysis or inhibition has been discussed in terms of differential stabilization of ground‐state and transition‐state complexes through a qualitative energy profile. A π‐complexed transition‐state structure is proposed to account for the kinetic results.