[reaction: see text] Rate constants and product selectivities (S = ([ester product]/[acid product]) x ([water]/[alcohol solvent]) are reported for solvolyses of chloroacetyl chloride (3) at -10 degrees C and phenylacetyl chloride (4) at 0 degrees C in ethanol/ and methanol/water mixtures. Additional kinetic data are reported for solvolyses in acetone/water, 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol(TFE)/water, and TFE/ethanol mixtures. Selectivities and solvent effects for 3, including the kinetic solvent isotope effect (KSIE) of 2.18 for methanol, are similar to those for solvolyses of p-nitrobenzoyl chloride (1, Z = NO(2)); rate constants in acetone/water are consistent with a third-order mechanism, and rates and products in ethanol/ and methanol/water mixtures can be explained quantitatively by competing third-order mechanisms in which one molecule of solvent (alcohol or water) acts as a nucleophile and another acts as a general base (an addition/elimination reaction channel). Selectivities increase for 3 as water is added to alcohol. Solvent effects on rate constants for solvolyses of 3 are very similar to those of methyl chloroformate, but acetyl chloride shows a lower KSIE, and a higher sensitivity to solvent-ionizing power, explained by a change to an S(N)2/S(N)1 (ionization) reaction channel. Solvolyses of 4 undergo a change from the addition/elimination channel in ethanol to the ionization channel in aqueous ethanol (<80% v/v alcohol). The reasons for change in reaction channels are discussed in terms of the gas-phase stabilities of acylium ions, calculated using Gaussian 03 (HF/6-31G(d), B3LYP/6-31G(d), and B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) MO theory).

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The aminolysis reactions of aryl N-phenythiocarbamates (PhNHC(=O)SC(6)H(4)Z; 3b) with benzylamines (XC(6)H(4)CH(2)NH(2)) in acetonitrile are studied. Rates are much faster than the corresponding reactions of aryl N-phenylcarbamates (PhNHC(=O)OC(6)H(4)Z; 3a). The rate increase from 3a to 3b is greater than that expected from substitution of thiophenoxide for phenoxide leaving group in the stepwise aminolysis reactions of esters. This large rate increase and the similar change in the aminolysis rates that are reported to occur from aryl ethyl carbonate (EtOC(=O)OC(6)H(4)Z; 2a) to aryl ethylthiocarbonate (EtOC(=O)SC(6)H(4)Z; 2b) lead us to conclude that the aminolysis of 3b proceeds by a concerted mechanism in contrast to a stepwise process for 3a. The negative rho(XZ) values (-0.63) and violation of the reactivity-selectivity principle (RSP) support the proposed mechanism. The large beta(X) values (1.3-1.5) obtained are considered to indicate a large degree of bond making in the transition state, which is consistent with the relatively large kinetic isotope effects (k(H)/k(D) > 1.0) observed.