1228701-75-4

Upstream product

• 6711-19-9 benzylium cation 
• 824-94-2 p-methoxybenzyl chloride 
• 105-13-5 4-Methoxybenzyl alcohol 
• 130728-22-2 4-methoxybenzyl 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzoate 

Downstream Products

• 105-13-5 4-Methoxybenzyl alcohol 
• 824-94-2 p-methoxybenzyl chloride 
• 16473-39-5 4-methoxybenzyl fluoride 
• 446867-23-8 4-methoxybenzyl 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl ether 

Relevant academic research and scientific papers

Concurrent stepwise and concerted substitution reactions of 4-methoxybenzyl derivatives and the lifetime of the 4-methoxybenzyl carbocation

The rates of reaction of 4-methoxybenzyl chloride, pentafluorobenzoate, and 3,5-dinitrobenzoate in 50:50 (v/v) trifluoroethanol/water are zero order in the concentration of azide ion. These reactions give good yields of the azide adduct from trapping of t

Hydrogen bonding and catalysis of solvolysis of 4-methoxybenzyl fluoride

Values of ko = 8.0 × 10-3 s-1 and kH = 2.5 × 10-2 M-1 s-1, respectively, were determined for the spontaneous and the acid-catalyzed cleavage of 4-methoxybenzyl fluoride (1-F) to form the 4-methoxybenzyl carbocation (1+). Values of kF = 1.8 × 107 M-1 s-1 and kHF = 7.2 × 104 M-1 s-1 were determined for addition of F- and HF to 1+ for reaction in the microscopic reverse direction. Evidence is presented that the reversible addition of HF to 1+ to give 1-F + H+ proceeds by a concerted reaction mechanism. The relatively small 250-fold difference between the reactivities of fluoride ion and neutral HF toward 1+ is attributed to the tendency of the strong aqueous solvation of F- to decrease its nucleophilic reactivity and to the advantage for the concerted compared with the usual stepwise pathway for addition of HF. There is no significant stabilization of the transition state for cleavage of 1-F from general acid catalysis by 0.80 M cyanoacetate buffer at pH 1.7. The estimated 3 kcal/mol larger Marcus intrinsic barrier for heterolytic cleavage of 1-F than for cleavage of 1-Cl is attributed to a lag in the development at the transition state of the ca. 30 kcal/mol greater stabilizing solvation of the product ion F- compared with Cl-. The decrease in the electronegativity of X along the series X = F, OH, Cl is accompanied by a ca. 1010-fold increase in the carbon basicity compared with the proton basicity of X-.

Lifetimes and UV-visible absorption spectra of benzyl, phenethyl, and cumyl carbocations and corresponding vinyl cations. A laser flash photolysis study

Benzyl (4-MeO, 4-Me, and 4-methoxy-1-naphthylmethyl), phenethyl (4- Me2N, 4-MeO, 3,4-(MeO)2, 4-Me, 3-Me, 4-F, 3-MeO, 2,6-Me2, parent, and 4- methoxy-1-naphthylethyl) and cumyl (4-Me2N, 4-MeO, 4-Me, parent) cations have been studied by laser flash photolysis (LFP) in 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) and 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP). In most cases styrene or α-methylstyrene precursors were employed for the phenethyl and cumyl ions, the intermediate being obtained by solvent protonation of the excited state. Benzyl cations were generated by photoheterolysis of trimethylammonium and chloride precursors. While a 4-MeO substituent provides sufficient stabilization to permit observation of cations in TFE, cations with less stabilizing substituents usually require the less nucleophilic HFIP. Even in this solvent, the parent benzyl cation is too short-lived (lifetime 6H4C+(R)-CH3 (R = Me, Et, i-Pr, t-Bu, cyclopropyl, C6H5, 4-MeOC6H4) were generated in TFE via the photoprotonation route. The alkyl series shows that steric effects are important in the decay reaction. The cation with R = cyclopropyl is a factor of 1.5 less reactive than the cation where R = phenyl. Several vinyl cations have also been generated by photoprotonation of phenylacetylenes. ArC+=CH2 has a reactivity very similar to that of its analog ArC+H-CH3, the vinyl cation being slightly (factors of 2-5) shorter-lived. For the various series of cations, including vinyl, substituents in the aryl ring have a consistent effect on the κ(max), a shift to higher wavelength relative to hydrogen of 15 nm for 4-Me, 30 nm for 4-MeO, and 50 nm for 4-Me2N.

Mechanisms of benzyl group transfer in the decay of (E)-arylmethanediazoates and aryldiazomethanes in aqueous solutions

Rate constants are reported for the buffer-independent decay of ten (E)-arylmethanediazoates in aqueous media at 25 °C, ionic strength 1 M (NaClO4), 4% 2-propanol, in the region of pH 4-12. The rate constants are proportional to hydrogen ion concentration at high pH and become pH independent in the low-pH region. Varying concentrations of oxyanion, amine, and hydrazine buffers over the range 0.05-0.2 M increased the pseudo-first-order rate constant for decay of the diazoates by less than 10%. The azide - water selectivities, ka/ks, for partitioning of the benzyl groups in the decay of (E)-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)methanediazoate and the (3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)diazomethane are determined to be 0.20 and 0.21 M-1, respectively, in phosphate buffered water and 0.27 and 0.26 M-1, respectively, in 20/80 DMSO-water. It is concluded that these two reactants decompose, in these media, via a common free diazonium ion intermediate that is formed in the case of the diazoate upon unassisted N-O bond cleavage of the diazoic acid. A common rate-limiting step is indicated for all the diazoates by the correlation line for the plot of log k1, the pH independent rate constant, against σ that has a slope q = -1.23. Product ratios for trapping of benzyl groups derived from other pairs of arylmethanediazoates and aryldiazomethanes with less electron withdrawing groups are different outside experimental error, indicating the importance of different nitrogen-separated ion pairs in these reactions. The (E)-(p-methoxy)phenyl)methane-16O-diazoate decomposes in 16O/18O water to give alcohol that has an "excess" abundance of 16O compared to solvent. Decomposition of the same compound in 50/50 trifluoroethanol-water with varying concentrations of azide indicates that azide ion appears to trap a limiting amount, ～80%, of the p-methoxybenzyl group. Quantitative analysis of the data indicates that 16% of the p-methoxybenzyl cation is trapped by solvent at the nitrogen-separated ion pair stage, in the absence of azide ion. There is a 9-fold enhancement of selectivity for trifluoroethanol at the ion pair stage that is ascribed to a proton switch initiated by the leaving hydroxide ion in the ion pair. The values of Ka/ks ～ 0.2 M-1 and kT/kH ～ 0.5-0.6 for the trifluoroethanol-water selectivity and kET/kT ～ 1 for the ethanol-trifluoroethanol selectivity are independent of substituent in the decay of arylmethanediazoates (X = H and EWG) in water, water-trifluoroethanol (50/50), and water-trifluoroethanol-ethanol (50/40/10), respectively. It is concluded from this that the productdetermining steps do not involve chemical bonding but rather rotational/translational reorientation of the nucleophiles in the first solvation sphere of the carbocation intermediates. It is concluded that the values of kH/kT = 0.5-0.6 indicate preferential solvation of the cation precursor by trifluoroethanol. It is shown that a preferential interaction for trifluoroethanol of 1 kcal/mol is required to generate the observed selectivities.

Substituent Effect on the Stability of Benzyl Cation in the Gas Phase

Chloride ion affinities of substituted benzyl cations in the gas phase have been determined by means of an ICR mass spectrometer.The substituent effect has been analyzed in terms of the LArSr Eq., giving a p=13.6 and r+=1.31.