Electrostatic effects on ionization equilibria: An MNDO study of proton and hydrogen transfer reactions of 4-fluorobutylamine

Abstract

The relative enthalpies of proton transfer δ ΔH0and homolytic bond strengths δDH0(B-H+) were calculated by the MNDO method for the sp and ap conformers of 4-flurobutylamine. The data obtained, along with the experimental gas phase basicities, are compared with the values predicted by the electrostatic theory. It is shown that the substituent polar effects FD on the basicities of amines are predominantly due to interactions in their protonated forms (X-B-H+) and/or radical-cations (X-B+.), those in the neutral species (X-B) playing a minor part. A contribution, which is considerably more significant in the sp conformer than in the ap conformer, arises probably also from substituent effects on the homolytic bond strength DH0(B-H+.