IChO 1983 · Theory problem 4

Kinetics and stereochemistry of the alkaline hydrolysis of chlorinated compounds

The following data were gathered for the alkaline hydrolysis of certain chlorinated compounds:

a) A certain volume of a solution of the neutral potassium salt of chlorosuccinic acid is mixed with an equal volume of hydroxide solution. The initial concentration of each solution is \(0.2\ \mathrm{mol\,dm^{-3}}\). The potassium hydroxide concentration in the reaction mixture was determined at different time intervals at \(25\,^\circ\mathrm{C}\). The following values were obtained:

t (minutes) 10 20 30 45 60 80 100
\(c(\ce{KOH})\) \((\mathrm{mol\,dm^{-3}})\) 0.085 0.074 0.065 0.056 0.049 0.042 0.036

The experiment was repeated with the same initial solutions at \(35\,^\circ\mathrm{C}\). The hydroxide concentration is reduced to one half after 21 minutes.

b) In the hydrolysis of 3-chloro-3-methylhexane with potassium hydroxide, the concentration of potassium hydroxide was found to have been reduced to one half after 32 minutes at \(25\,^\circ\mathrm{C}\) or 11 minutes at \(35\,^\circ\mathrm{C}\), regardless of the initial reactant concentrations (identical).

c) In the alkaline hydrolysis of 3-chloro-2,4-dimethyl-3-isopropylpentane an identical reaction mechanism as for reaction b was found but the reaction rate was about 100 times faster under the same reaction conditions.

Considering the above data answer the following questions:

4.1 What is the reaction order in cases a, b, and c?

4.2 What is the rate constant at \(25\,^\circ\mathrm{C}\) for reaction a? Indicate the units.

4.3 Calculate the activation energies for reactions a and b.

4.4 If in reaction a dipotassium salt of L-chlorosuccinic acid (which is levorotatory,) is used, what type of optical rotation will be exhibited by the corresponding salt of malic acid formed by hydrolysis?

4.5 If the levorotatory isomer is also used in reaction b, what optical rotation will be exhibited by 3-methyl-3-hexanol formed in the hydrolysis reaction?

4.6 Why is the rate of reaction c much faster than that of reaction b when both reactions are of the same type and occur under the same temperature and concentration conditions?

Official English text of the problem.

Answers

  • 4.1: a: second order; b: first order; c: first order. The intended mechanisms are \(S_\mathrm{N}2\), \(S_\mathrm{N}1\), and \(S_\mathrm{N}1\), respectively.
  • 4.2: \(k_{a,25}\approx\boxed{0.175\ \mathrm{dm^3\,mol^{-1}\,min^{-1}}}\).
  • 4.3: \(\boxed{E_{\mathrm a,a}\approx76\ \mathrm{kJ\,mol^{-1}}}\); \(\boxed{E_{\mathrm a,b}\approx82\ \mathrm{kJ\,mol^{-1}}}\).
  • 4.4: Inversion gives dipotassium D-malate, [K+].[K+].O=C([O-])[C@H](O)CC(=O)[O-]. Dextrorotatory is the likely intended answer, but the rotation sign does not follow from configurational inversion alone; it requires an empirical assignment for the product salt.
  • 4.5: Optically inactive racemic 3-methylhexan-3-ol, an equimolar mixture of CC[C@](C)(O)CCC and CC[C@@](C)(O)CCC; net rotation is zero in the ideal \(S_\mathrm{N}1\) model.
  • 4.6: The three bulky isopropyl groups in c cause substantial steric strain. Ionization toward a planar carbocation relieves this strain, lowering the activation barrier and accelerating the reaction.

Solution

4.1 — Reaction orders

Each substitution consumes one hydroxide ion, \(\ce{OH^-}\), [OH-], per organic chloride and releases one chloride ion, \(\ce{Cl^-}\), [Cl-].

For a, mixing equal volumes halves both initial concentrations:

\[ c_0=\frac{0.2V}{2V}=0.10\ \mathrm{mol\,dm^{-3}}. \]

Because the reactants begin at equal concentrations and are consumed in a \(1:1\) ratio, their concentrations remain equal. Denote either concentration by \(c\).

For the proposed bimolecular substitution,

\[ v=k_a[\text{chlorosuccinate}][\ce{OH^-}], \]

so along this equimolar reaction mixture,

\[ -\frac{dc}{dt}=k_ac^2. \]

Integration gives

\[ \boxed{\frac1c-\frac1{c_0}=k_at}. \]

The experimental values give an approximately constant value of \((1/c-1/c_0)/t\), as calculated in 4.2. Thus a is second order overall, consistent with an \(S_\mathrm{N}2\) substitution.

For b, the half-life is independent of the initial concentration. This is characteristic of first-order kinetics:

\[ -\frac{dc}{dt}=k_bc, \qquad c=c_0e^{-k_bt}, \qquad \boxed{t_{1/2}=\frac{\ln2}{k_b}}. \]

Equal initial concentrations and \(1:1\) consumption mean that halving the hydroxide concentration also corresponds to halving the organic chloride concentration. The tertiary chloride structure supports an \(S_\mathrm{N}1\) mechanism, with slow unimolecular ionization:

\[ v=k_b[\text{organic chloride}]. \]

Thus b is first order, with no hydroxide concentration factor in the ideal rate law.

Since c has the same mechanism as b, it is also first order.

4.2 — Rate constant for a at \(25\,^\circ\mathrm{C}\)

Using \(c_0=0.10\ \mathrm{mol\,dm^{-3}}\),

\[ k_a=\frac{1/c-1/c_0}{t}. \]

The individual estimates are:

\(t\) / min 10 20 30 45 60 80 100
\(k_a\) / \(\mathrm{dm^3\,mol^{-1}\,min^{-1}}\) 0.1765 0.1757 0.1795 0.1746 0.1735 0.1726 0.1778

For example, at 45 minutes,

\[ k_a = \frac{1/0.056-1/0.100}{45} = 0.1746\ \mathrm{dm^3\,mol^{-1}\,min^{-1}}. \]

Fitting \(1/c-1/c_0=k_at\) to all seven measurements gives approximately \(0.17546\ \mathrm{dm^3\,mol^{-1}\,min^{-1}}\). Accordingly,

\[ \boxed{k_{a,25}\approx0.175\ \mathrm{dm^3\,mol^{-1}\,min^{-1}}}. \]

The corresponding half-life is approximately

\[ t_{1/2,a,25} =\frac{1}{k_{a,25}c_0} \approx57\ \mathrm{min}, \]

consistent with the measured concentration being just below half its initial value at 60 minutes.

4.3 — Activation energies

The two-temperature Arrhenius equation is

\[ \ln\!\left(\frac{k_2}{k_1}\right) = \frac{E_{\mathrm a}}{R} \left(\frac1{T_1}-\frac1{T_2}\right). \]

Use

\[ T_1=298.15\ \mathrm K,\qquad T_2=308.15\ \mathrm K,\qquad R=8.314\ \mathrm{J\,mol^{-1}\,K^{-1}}. \]

For reaction a, the equimolar second-order half-life satisfies

\[ t_{1/2}=\frac1{kc_0}. \]

Hence, at \(35\,^\circ\mathrm C\),

\[ k_{a,35} = \frac1{(0.10\ \mathrm{mol\,dm^{-3}})(21\ \mathrm{min})} = 0.47619\ \mathrm{dm^3\,mol^{-1}\,min^{-1}}. \]

Using the unrounded fitted value at \(25\,^\circ\mathrm C\),

\[ E_{\mathrm a,a} = \frac{ 8.314\ln(0.47619/0.17546) }{ 1/298.15-1/308.15 } \ \mathrm{J\,mol^{-1}} \approx7.63\times10^4\ \mathrm{J\,mol^{-1}}. \]

Thus,

\[ \boxed{E_{\mathrm a,a}\approx76\ \mathrm{kJ\,mol^{-1}}}. \]

For reaction b,

\[ k_{b,25}=\frac{\ln2}{32\ \mathrm{min}} =0.02166\ \mathrm{min^{-1}}, \]

\[ k_{b,35}=\frac{\ln2}{11\ \mathrm{min}} =0.06301\ \mathrm{min^{-1}}. \]

Therefore,

\[ \frac{k_{b,35}}{k_{b,25}}=\frac{32}{11}, \]

and

\[ E_{\mathrm a,b} = \frac{ 8.314\ln(32/11) }{ 1/298.15-1/308.15 } \ \mathrm{J\,mol^{-1}} \approx8.16\times10^4\ \mathrm{J\,mol^{-1}}. \]

Thus,

\[ \boxed{E_{\mathrm a,b}\approx82\ \mathrm{kJ\,mol^{-1}}}. \]

4.4 — Stereochemistry of chlorosuccinate hydrolysis

Potassium hydroxide has SMILES [K+].[OH-], and potassium chloride has SMILES [K+].[Cl-]. The balanced hydrolysis is

\[ \ce{K2C4H3ClO4 + KOH -> K2C4H4O5 + KCl}. \]

The organic reactant and product are:

  • Dipotassium L-chlorosuccinate, with the usual L assignment corresponding here to \(S\): [K+].[K+].O=C([O-])[C@@H](Cl)CC(=O)[O-].
  • Dipotassium D-malate, corresponding here to \(R\): [K+].[K+].O=C([O-])[C@H](O)CC(=O)[O-].

In an \(S_\mathrm{N}2\) reaction, a lone pair on hydroxide oxygen attacks the stereogenic carbon from the side opposite the carbon–chlorine bond. Carbon–oxygen bond formation and carbon–chlorine bond cleavage occur together, with the latter bond’s electron pair passing to chlorine.

This produces Walden inversion. Here the substituent-priority ordering remains analogous after chlorine is replaced by hydroxyl, so

\[ (S)\text{-L-chlorosuccinate} \longrightarrow (R)\text{-D-malate}. \]

The likely intended elementary answer is that the product is dextrorotatory. However, this requires an additional empirical identification of the product salt as the positive-rotation enantiomer under the measurement conditions. Neither \(R/S\) nor D/L notation determines the sign of optical rotation, and replacing chlorine by hydroxyl produces a different compound. Consequently, the supplied information establishes configurational inversion, but does not by itself establish a positive rotation.

4.5 — Stereochemistry of 3-chloro-3-methylhexane hydrolysis

The balanced substitution is

\[ \ce{ CH3CH2C(Cl)(CH3)CH2CH2CH3 + KOH -> CH3CH2C(OH)(CH3)CH2CH2CH3 + KCl }. \]

The starting material is 3-chloro-3-methylhexane. Its two enantiomers are CC[C@](C)(Cl)CCC and CC[C@@](C)(Cl)CCC; the designation “levorotatory” alone does not identify which absolute configuration is present.

Slow ionization produces the 3-methylhexan-3-yl carbocation, CC[C+](C)CCC:

\[ \ce{C7H15Cl -> C7H15+ + Cl^-}. \]

The positively charged carbon is approximately trigonal planar. In the ideal freely solvated carbocation model, hydroxide attacks either face with equal probability:

\[ \ce{C7H15+ + OH^- -> C7H16O}. \]

The product is therefore racemic 3-methylhexan-3-ol, containing equal amounts of

\[ \texttt{CC[C@](C)(O)CCC} \quad\text{and}\quad \texttt{CC[C@@](C)(O)CCC}. \]

These enantiomers have equal and opposite rotations under identical conditions. Thus,

\[ \boxed{\alpha_{\mathrm{mixture}}=0}, \]

and the product is optically inactive by external compensation.

4.6 — Why c reacts much faster

The substrate in c, 3-chloro-2,4-dimethyl-3-isopropylpentane, has SMILES CC(C)C(Cl)(C(C)C)C(C)C. Its chlorine-bearing carbon is attached to three isopropyl groups.

The formal substitution product is 2,4-dimethyl-3-(propan-2-yl)pentan-3-ol, CC(C)C(O)(C(C)C)C(C)C:

\[ \ce{[(CH3)2CH]3CCl + KOH -> [(CH3)2CH]3COH + KCl}. \]

The rate-determining ionization develops the tris(propan-2-yl)methyl carbocation, CC(C)[C+](C(C)C)C(C)C.

In the starting chloride, three bulky isopropyl groups crowd around a tetrahedral carbon. As the carbon–chlorine bond breaks, the central carbon approaches a trigonal planar geometry, with angles between its three carbon substituents approaching \(120^\circ\). This change relieves substantial steric strain.

Reaction b has methyl, ethyl, and propyl groups around the reacting carbon and experiences less such crowding. Consequently, ionization in c gains more from strain relief and has a lower activation barrier. This steric acceleration of the \(S_\mathrm{N}1\) ionization explains its much greater rate.

The solution was checked against the official solution.