A Kinetic Study on Aminolysis of t-Butyl 4-Pyridyl Carbonate and Related Compounds: Effect of Leaving and Nonleaving Groups on Reaction Mechanism

Second-order rate constants $k_N$ have been measured spectrophotometrically for nucleophilic substitution reactions of t-butyl 4-pyridyl carbonate 8 with a series of alicyclic secondary amines in $H_2O$ at $25.0{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$. The Br${\emptyset}$nsted-type plot for the reactions of 8 is linear with ${\beta}_{nuc}$ = 0.84. The ${\beta}_{nuc}$ value obtained for the reactions of 8 is much larger than that reported for the corresponding reactions of t-butyl 2-pyridyl carbonate 6 (i.e., ${\beta}_{nuc}$ = 0.44), which was proposed to proceed through a forced concerted mechanism. Thus, the aminolysis of 8 has been concluded to proceed through a stepwise mechanism with a zwitterionic tetrahedral intermediate $T^{\pm}$, in which expulsion of the leaving-group from $T^{\pm}$ occurs at the rate-determining step (RDS). In contrast, aminolysis of benzyl 4-pyridyl carbonate 7 has been reported to proceed through two intermediates, $T^{\pm}$ and its deprotonated form $T^-$ on the basis of the fact that the plots of pseudo-first-order rate constant $k_{obsd}$ vs. amine concentration curve upward. The current study has demonstrated convincingly that the nature of the leaving and nonleaving groups governs the reaction mechanism. The contrasting reaction mechanisms have been rationalized in terms of an intramolecular H-bonding interaction, steric acceleration, and steric inhibition.