Charles M. Starks

Anion activation by catalysts used in phase transfer catalysis

Abstract The chemical kinetics of phase transfer catalyzed reactions depend primarily on several inter-related parameters: li]catalyst structure 1. reaction conditions and concentrations 2. type of reaction being catalyzed. From the kinetics one may often assess the relative importance of these parameters. Of particular interest is the effect of the molecular structure of the catalyst on its effectiveness. Molecular structure in anion transfer catalysts affects not only the ability of the catalyst to transfer anions from solid or aqueous phases into organic phases, but it also affects the ability of the catalyst to activate the anion for its reaction with the organic phase reactant. The lecture to be presented is a summary of work dealing with the dependence of the kinetics of some phase transfer catalyzed reaction system on catalyst structure, and of how these structures influence anion activation.