Mechanism of reduction of trityl halides by lithium dialkylamide bases

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/ja00169a029

Trityl chloride (TCl) and bromide are reduced by hindered lithium dialkylamide bases in THF to give predominantly triphenylmethane and a small amount of trityl dimer. Rate constants for the reduction of TCl by lithium diisopropylamide and lithium tert-butylethylamide in THF at -78 ?C have been measured; the reactions are first order in monomeric base and in trityl chloride. Inter- and intramolecular kinetic isotope effect studies employing β-deuterium substituted bases and substituent effect studies coupled with other kinetic information were used to formulate a scheme for the reactions. The reactions proceed by a rapid predissociation of the trityl halide to form an ion pair containing the trityl-THF oxonium cation followed by diffusion controlled electron transfer (ET) from the monomeric form of the base to the trityl-THF oxonium ion. The radical pair thus formed reacts by fast, highly regioselective β-hydrogen atom transfer from the aminyl radical to the methine carbon of the trityl radical to give triphenylmethane. Radical escape from the cage is a minor competing process. An outer-sphere ET process is energetically acceptable, but an inner-sphere process appears to be more likely.