Substitution at saturated carbon. Part 24. The reactivity of the benzyltin group towards mercury (II) salts in methanol
Abstract
In the reaction of the compounds PhCH2SnR3 with mercury(II) salts in methanol, only the benzyl group is cleaved from tin to form PhCH2HgX when R = Bun, Prn and Et. With PhCH2SnMe3, only the methyl group is removed to yield MeHgX. Rate constants are reported for the reaction of PhCH2SnR3 with mercury(II) chloride and acetate in methanol, and together with previous work yield the following sequence of reactivity of RSn groups towards mercury(II) chloride and acetate in methanol: R = Ph (1.4 × 105) > Me (430) > PhCH2(11) > Et(1) > Prn(0.19) > Bun(0.17).