Nucleophilicities of nitroalkyl anions

The kinetics of the reactions of eight nitroalkyl anions (nitronate anions) with benzhydrylium ions and quinone methides in DMSO and water were investigated photometrically. The second-order rate constants were found to follow a Ritchie constant selectivity relationship with slightly smaller selectivities than those observed previously for other carbanions and O or N nucleophiles. Evaluation of the kinetic data by the correlation equation log k (20 degrees C) = s(N + E) yields the nucleophilicity parameters (N), which allow a comparison of the nucleophilicities of nitronates with those of other classes of compounds. Although the aliphatic nitronates 1a-c are more nucleophilic than the aromatic representatives 1d-h in DMSO, hydration reduces the nucleophilicities of aliphatic nitronates by a factor of 1 million, which is considerably greater than the reduction of the reactivities of the aromatic nitronates with the consequence that aromatic nitronates are more nucleophilic in water than aliphatic ones. The nucleophilic reactivities of nitronates are only slightly affected by substituent variation in DMSO and even less so in aqueous solution, which is considered to be the reason for the unusual rate equilibrium relationships, the so-called nitroalkane anomaly. Outer-sphere electron transfer does not occur in any of the reactions that were investigated.