Letter: Silver mediated ester bond formation in the gas phase: Substrate structure is important

Abstract

The silver acetate cation CH3CO2Ag2 + reacted with allyl iodide via C-O bond coupling to produce Ag 2I+ and allyl acetate, but only underwent adduct formation with methyl iodide, highlighting the importance of substrate on reactivity. DFT calculations predicted the reaction with allyl iodide to be exothermic by 0.48 eV and suggested that intermediates in the reaction benefit from multiple interactions between the allyl and iodide moieties of allyl iodide and the two silver atoms in CH3CO2Ag2+. © IM Publications LLP 2007.