Electrophilicities of Benzaldehyde-Derived Iminium Ions: Quantification of the Electrophilic Activation of Aldehydes by Iminium Formation

Rate constants for the reactions of benzaldehyde-derived iminium ions with C-nucleophiles (enamines, silylated ketene acetals, and enol ethers) have been determined photometrically in CH3CN solution and used to determine the electrophilicity parameters E of the cations defined by the correlation log k(20 degrees C) = s(N)(E + N) (Mayr, H.; et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 9500-9512). With electrophilicity parameters from E = -10.69 (Ar = p-MeOC6H4) to E = -8.34 (Ar = p-CF3), the iminium ions Ar-CH=NMe2+ have almost the same reactivities as analogously substituted arylidenemalononitriles Ar-CH=C(CN)(2) and are 10 orders of magnitude more reactive than the corresponding aldehydes. The rate constants for the reactions of iminium ions with amines and water in acetonitrile are 10(3)-10(5) times faster than predicted by the quoted correlation, which is explained by the transition states which already experience the anomeric stabilization of the resulting N,N- and O,N-acetals.