High-Pressure Mass Spectrometric Investigations of the Potential Energy Surfaces of Gas-Phase SN2 Reactions

High-Pressure Mass Spectrometric (HPMS) experiments have been carried out to probe the details of the double minimum potential energy surface for gas-phase SN2 reactions. The well depths and entropy changes associated with the formation of entrance and exit channel electrostatic complexes for the chloride and bromide adducts of methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, and tert-butyl chlorides and bromides have been determined from the temperature dependence of the equilibrium constants for adduct formation. In the cases of “symmetric” complexes associated with identity SN2 reactions, there is an increase in well depth as the size and, therefore, polarizability of the alkyl group increases. Concomitant with this is an increase in the magnitude of the negative entropy change for complex formation which is the result of an increase in the frequency of the intermolecular mode(s) of the complex arising from the increased bond strength. The data for the unsymmetrical adducts for the non-identity SN2 reactions show the same pa...