Isotope effects in acid‐catalyzed aromatic hydrogen exchange

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Deuterium‐ or tritium‐substituted aromatics undergo isotope exchange in fairly concentrated aqueous sulfuric acid media. The rate constant for this process is complex, being composed of that for the slow electrophilic attack, and the isotope effect on the breakup of the Wheland intermediate. Using experimental rate constant data for both deuterium and tritium exchange on the same substrate, the excess acidity method and the Swain–Schaad relationship, true protonation rate constants and isotope effects have been separated out for several positions in several simple aromatic substrates. Most of the electrophilic attack rate constants are described by a Hammett‐type linear free energy relationship with a ρ+ of − 6.5. The average observed deuterium isotope effect on Wheland intermediate breakup was 5.3. Using rate constants obtained at different temperatures, enthalpies and entropies of activation were also obtained for benzene, naphthalene and thiophene; the activation entropy averaged − 8 cal mol−1 K−1. Some evidence was found for general acid catalysis at the higher acidities.