Catalysis of the methanolysis of acetylimidazole by lanthanum triflate

Abstract

Methanolysis of acetylimidazole (1) and N-acetylimidazolepentamine-Co(III) (2) was found to be markedly accelerated in the presence of La(OTf)3. Potentiometric titration of a solution of La3+(OTf-)3 gave a pKa for the metal bound CH3OH of 7.22. The kinetics of methanolysis of 1 and 2 were measured at 25°C at various pH under buffered conditions as a function of increasing La3+. Analysis of both the kinetic and potentiometric data indicates that the catalytically active species is a La3+-dimer, bridged by two methoxides, (CH3OH)nLa3+(CH3O-)2La3+(CH3OH)n. The maximum second-order rate constants for attack of the dimer on 1 and 2 are 1.50 × 103 M-1 s-1 and 1.42 × 102 M-1 s-1 respectively and both processes adhere to titration of a La3+(CH3OH) to generate the active form. The results are explained in terms of a mechanism where the methoxy-bridged La3+ dimer transiently breaks a La3+-OCH3 bond to expose both a CH3O- nucleophile and a La3+ which can act as a Lewis acid. Unlike the situation in water, the methanol results indicate that the medium greatly stabilizes and solubilizes the active dimer without the necessity of creating specially designed ligands to stabilize the dinuclear core.Key words: lanthanum ion, catalysis, methanolysis, activated amide.