Using Secondary α Deuterium Kinetic Isotope Effects To Determine the Symmetry of S_N2 Transition States

摘要

The secondary α deuterium and heavy atom kinetic isotope effects found for two different S_N2 reactions suggest that the magnitude of secondary α deuterium kinetic isotope effects can be determined by the length of only the shorter (stronger) reacting bond in an unsymmetrical S_N2 transition state rather than by the usual nucleophile- leaving group distance.