Solvent Effects on Organic Reactions

Abstract

Many chemical reactions generate different products or show different reactivities depending on the solvent in which the reaction runs. Despite the empirical understanding of these effects, their basis in theory is only partially developed. In this investigation, we studied the SN2 reaction CH3Cl + NH3 in acetonitrile or aqueous solution. All molecules were treated at the B3LYP/6-31G+ level of theory using GAMESS and NWChem. We discuss the relative importance of solvent effects on the thermodynamics versus the kinetics of the reaction