Determination of the Mechanism of Nucleophilic Reaction of Fenitrothion Using Substituted Phenoxide Nucleophiles in Aqueous Media

The mechanism of the nucleophilic displacement reaction at the phosphorus centre of organophosphates was determined. Phenoxide nucleophiles were reacted with fenitrothion (O,O-dimethyl O-(3-methyl-4-nitrophenyl) phosphorothioate) in water at 25oC and pseudo-first order rate constant measurements taken. Second-order rate constant (kNuc) was determined for the different concentrations of nucleophiles while the second-order rate constant (klg) for the investigation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxide ion with and series of aryl phosphorothioate esters was also determined. Linear free energy relationship was further determined using the Brϕnsted-type plot. The plots are linear over a range of pKaNuc of 7.15-11.10 that straddles the pKa of the leaving 3-methyl-4-nitrophenoxide ion (pKa = 7.20) with statistically acceptable linear correlations (R2 = 0.987) and (R2 = 0.980). The linearity in the traditional Brϕnsted-type plots shows the sensitivity of the nucleophilic displacement to the basicity of the nucleophiles and hence is consistent with a single transition-state mechanism whose barrier to decomposition is low hence concerted. Analysis of the values of βNuc, βLg and βeq (0.734) with the effective charge distribution in the transition state shows that it has no positive character. The Leffler index presents bond formation being slightly ahead of bond rupture.