Electronic effect on the kinetics of the diaza-cope rearrangement.

Hammett plot reveals that there is a significant electronic effect on the rate of resonance assisted hydrogen bond (RAHB) directed diaza-Cope rearrangement reaction with a rho value of 1.6. DFT computation shows that the rearrangement reaction becomes thermodynamically more favorable for the substrates with electron withdrawing substituents. A substrate with the nitro substituent (1a) reacts about 50-fold faster than that with the methoxy substituent (1g).