The secondary deuterium isotope effects on the thermal decomposition of t-butyl peracetate (6), t-butyl p-nitrophenylperacetate (7), and t-butyl p-methoxyphenylperacetate (8) have been measured. The isotope effect for compound 6 is very small (kH/kD = 1.00 =k 0.02 in isooctane at 130.10"). The isotope effect on the decomposition of 7 is 1.10 for two deuteriums at 85 O in chlorobenzene and 1.09 at the same temperature in Nujol. Compound 8 has an isotope effect of 1.07 for two deuteriums in isooctane at 60.4", and at the same temperature in Nujol the effect is found to be 1.05. The very small isotope effect for 6 is interpreted in terms of a nonconcerted decomposition, while the larger effects observed for 7 and 8 are compared to that observed in the case of t-butyl phenylperacetate. A study of oxygen-18 scrambling in the decomposition of 6 is discussed in terms of possible mechanistic refinements for perester decompositions.he thermal decomposition of peresters has been
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