The products from the alkylation of silver hyponitrite with tert-butyl bromide, tert-amyl bromide,
p-tert-butyl benzylbromide, and chlorotriethylsilane have been determined. In the reaction of tert-butyl bromide
the formation of three new products, namely, (Z)-N-tert-butyl-N‘-tert-butoxydiazene-N-oxide {(CH3)3CN(O)NOC(CH3)3}, 1D, trans-mono-O-tert-butylhyponitrous acid {(CH3)3CONNOH}, 2A, and (Z)-N-tert-butyl-N‘-hydroxydiazene-N-oxide {(CH3)3CN(O)NNOH}, 2D, is observed together with the formation of the known
trans-di-O-tert-butyl hyponitrite {(CH3)3CONNOC(CH3)3}, 1A. The reaction with tert-amyl bromide also yielded
the corresponding tert-amyl derivatives. However, from the reactions of p-tert-butylbenzyl bromide and
chlorotriethylsilane with silver hyponitrite, the corresponding trans-di-O-tert-alkylhyponitrites were obtained
as the only alkylated products. The differential reactivity of the two sets of halides with silver hyponitrite is
explained in terms of the higher stability of the cations generated from the former halides in comparison to
those generated from the latter halides. The thermal decomposition data and UV−visible spectroscopic data
are reported for all of the products. Crystallographic structural data are reported for two of the products, namely,
(Z)-N-tert-butyl-N‘-tert-butoxydiazene-N-oxide, 1D, as its hyponitrous acid adduct, (CH3)3CN(O)NOC(CH3)3·1/2HONNOH, and trans-di-O
-
p-tert-butylbenzyl hyponitrite, {p(CH3)3C}C6H4CH2ONNOCH2C6H4-p-{C(CH3)3}.
Theoretical calculations using ab initio density functional theory (B3LYP) are reported for the hyponitrite
dianion, trans-mono-O-methylhyponitrite anion, (Z)-N-methyl-N‘-hydroxylatodiazene-N-oxide anion, and for
the methylation transition states. On the basis of the products isolated from the reactions of tert-butyl bromide
and tert-amyl bromide and the theoretical calculations, a pathway is proposed to account for the observed
product distributions where O/O-dialkylation is found in the trans(E) products and O/N-dialkylation is found
in the cis(Z) products.