A reluctant first-order substrate can be forced to ionize by adding some silver nitrate (one of the few soluble silver salts) to the reaction. Silver ion reacts with the halogen to form a silver halide (a highly exothermic reaction), generating the cation of the alkyl group.

Give mechanisms for the following silver-promoted rearrangements.
(a)

A reluctant first-order substrate can be forced to ionize by adding some silver nitrate (one of the few soluble silver salts) to the reaction. Silver ion reacts with the halogen to form a silver halide (a highly exothermic reaction), generating the cation of the alkyl group.

Give mechanisms for the following silver-promoted rearrangements.

(b)

Show how you would convert (in one or two steps) 1-phenylpropane to the three products shown below. In each case, explain what unwanted reactions might produce undesirable impurities in the product.

Under certain conditions, when (R)-2-bromobutane is heated with water, the S_N1 substitution proceeds twice as fast as the S_N2. Calculate the e.e. and the specific rotation expected for the product. The specific rotation of (R)-butan-2-ol is −13.5°. Assume that the S_N1 gives equal amounts of the two enantiomers.

For each reaction, give the expected substitution product, and predict whether the ­mechanism will be predominantly first order (SN1) or second order (SN2).

d. cyclohexylbromide + methanol

e. cyclohexylbromide + sodium ethoxide

Show how you would convert (in one or two steps) 1-phenylpropane to the three products shown below. In each case, explain what unwanted reactions might produce undesirable impurities in the product.

For each reaction, give the expected substitution product, and predict whether the ­mechanism will be predominantly first order (SN1) or second order (SN2).

c. 1-iodo-1-methylcyclohexane + ethanol