Uncertainty Quantification of Reactivity Scales

05 July 2021, Version 2
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

​According to Mayr, polar organic synthesis can be rationalized by a simple empirical relationship linking bimolecular rate constants to as few as three reactivity parameters. Here, we propose an extension to Mayr’s reactivity method that is rooted in uncertainty quantification and transforms the reactivity parameters into probability distributions. Through uncertainty propagation, these distributions can be transformed into uncertainty estimates for bimolecular rate constants. Chemists can exploit these virtual error bars to enhance synthesis planning and to decrease the ambiguity of conclusions drawn from experimental data. We demonstrate the above at the example of the reference data set released by Mayr and co-workers [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 9500; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 13902]. As by-product of the new approach, we obtain revised reactivity parameters for 36 π-nucleophiles and 32 benzhydrylium ions.

Keywords

carbocations
kinetics
nucleophilic addition
reactivity scales
uncertainty quantification

Supplementary weblinks

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