24788-10-1Relevant articles and documents
Chemistry of the tert-Butyl Radical: Polar Character, ρ Value for Reaction with Toluenes, and the Effect of Radical Polarity on the Ration of Benzylic Hydrogen Abstraction to Addition to Aromatic Rings
Pryor, William A.,Tang, Felicia Y.,Tang, Robert H.,Church, Daniel F.
, p. 2885 - 2891 (2007/10/02)
We have reexamined the reactions of tert-butyl radicals with toluenes and have obtained a ρ value of 0.49 +/- 0.04 at 80 deg C.The new, independent system involves the quantification of all of the principal products from the reaction of tert-butyl radicals with mixtures of toluene and substituted toluene.Five major products contain benzyl fragments and are formed in significant yields: two symmetrical bibenzyls, the cross bibenzyl, and the two neopentylbenzenes that result from combination of tert-butyl and the two benzyl radicals.Attack on the side chain is a major reaction of free tert-butyl radicals and is the only significant reaction that they undergo other than cage and termination reactions. tert-Butyl radicals do not add to the ring of toluenes.Data on the relative rates of addition to benzenes and hydrogen abstraction from toluenes are collected for a series of radicals including hydrogen atoms; methyl, isopropyl, and tert-butyl radicals; and p-nitrophenyl, p-bromophenyl, and phenyl radicals.The data demonstrate that more electrophilic radicals have a larger tendency to add to rings whereas more nucleophilic radicals have a larger tendency to abstract benzylic hydrogens.
