Kinetics of the anionic coordination dimerization of isoprene

Abstract

The kinetics of the anionic coordination dimerization of isoprene (i.e., 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene) to β-myrcene (i.e., 7-methyl-3-methylene-1,6-octadiene) was investigated. The reaction was initiated with sodium in the presence of dicyclohexyl amine in tetrahydrofuran. Kinetic measurements showed that ionic pairs of isoprenyl sodium were additionally solvated by two molecules of tetrahydrofuran. A kinetic model of the reaction enabled the time dependence of the isoprene concentration to be expressed in terms of a two-parameter equation.