Overall Details of The Reaction Mechanism
The solution of metal in ammonia provides electrons which are taken up by the aromatic ring to form the corresponding radical anion B in the first step of the reaction. This is followed by protonation by the alcohol to form a cyclohexadienyl radical C. Next, a second electron is transferred to the radical to form a cyclohexadienyl carbanion D. In the last step a second proton leads the cyclohexadienyl carbanion to the unconjugated cyclohexadienyl product. These steps are outlined below for the case of anisole.
The reaction is known to be third order – first order in aromatic, first order in the alkali metal, and first order in the alcohol. This requires the rate-limiting step to be the conversion of radical anion B to the cyclohexadienyl radical C.
Read more about this topic: Birch Reduction
Famous quotes containing the words details, reaction and/or mechanism:
“There was a time when the average reader read a novel simply for the moral he could get out of it, and however naïve that may have been, it was a good deal less naïve than some of the limited objectives he has now. Today novels are considered to be entirely concerned with the social or economic or psychological forces that they will by necessity exhibit, or with those details of daily life that are for the good novelist only means to some deeper end.”
—Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964)
“Christianity was only a very strong and singularly well-timed Salvation Army movement that happened to receive help from an unusual and highly dramatic incident. It was a Puritan reaction in an age when, no doubt, a Puritan reaction was much wanted; but like all sudden violent reactions, it soon wanted reacting against.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)
“I’ve never known a Philadelphian who wasn’t a downright “character;” possibly a defense mechanism resulting from the dullness of their native habitat.”
—Anita Loos (1888–1981)