Kinetic Study of the Pyridine-Catalyzed Selenolactonization of 4-Pentenoic Acid

The kinetics and mechanism of the pyridine-catalyzed cyclofunctionalization of 4-pentenoic acid by means of PhSeX (X = Cl, Br) have been investigated spectrophotometrically, under pseudo -first order reaction conditions. The influence of the reaction temperature, the type of cyclization reagent and used catalyst on the reaction rate and mechanism was examined. The obtained data have showed that rate constants go on increasing as the temperatures go up and with use of PhSeCl as reagent. Also, the reaction rate is directly depended on the type of the catalyst used—stronger bases with higher tendency for hydrogen bond formation (DN) are promoting reaction in more efficient way. Graphic Abstract