Reactivity of Aziridinium Salts in Different Solvents Unraveled by a Combined Theoretical and Experimental Approach

This chapter focuses on the importance of aziridinium ions as intermediates in organic chemistry. The principal aim is to gain insight into the factors to take into account for the selective synthesis of a variety of functionalized amines via aziridinium salts, such as the nature of the aziridinium ion (ring strain and N- and C-substituents of the aziridine ring), the nucleophile, and the solvent environment. Molecular modeling is used to investigate kinetics, electrostatics, and frontier molecular orbitals of reactions involving intermediate aziridinium ions, such as the nucleophilic ring opening of aziridines, the ring expansion of nitrogen heterocycles, and the ene reactions with triazolinedione. Open image in new window