Chlorine isotope effects in dehydrochlorination. A mechanistic crossover at the E1cB-E2 borderline induced by a change in para-substituent
Abstract
Chlorine isotope effects in base-promoted dehydrochlorinations have been measured for the first time, and the results point to an E2 to E1cB mechanistic switch in the para-substituted (p-YC6H4)2CH·CHCl2 series, as the substituent becomes more powerfully electronwithdrawing.