Reactivity of cyclohex-1-enylcarboxylic and 2-methylcyclohex-1-enylcarboxylic acids with diazodiphenylmethane in aprotic solvents

Rate constants for the reaction of diazodiphenylmethane with cyclohex-1-enylcarboxylic acid and 2-methylcyclohex-1-enylcarboxylic acid were determined in nine aprotic solvents, as well as in seven protic solvents, at 30°C using the appropriate UV-spectroscopic method. In protic solvents the unsubsituted acid displayed higher reaction rates than the methyl-substituted one. The results in aprotic solvents showed quite the opposite, and the reaction rates were considerably lower. In order to explain the obtained results through solvent effects, reaction rate constants (k) of the examined acids were correlated using the total solvatochromic equation of the form: log k=logk0+sp*+aa+bb, where p* is the measure of the solvent polarity, a represents the scale of the solvent hydrogen bond donor acidities (HBD) and b represents the scale of the solvent hydrogen bond acceptor basicities (HBA). The correlation of the kinetic data were carried out by means of multiple linear regression analysis and the opposite effects of aprotic solvents, as well as the difference in the influence of protic and aprotic solvents on the reaction of the two examined acids with DDM were discussed. The results presented in this paper for cyclohex-1-enylcarboxylic and 2-methylcyclohex-1-enylcarboxylic acids were compared with the kinetic data for benzoic acid obtained in the same chemical reaction, under the same experimental conditions.