The solvolysis of benzoyl halides as a chemical probe determining the polarity of the cavity of dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin

The solvolysis of benzoyl halides (BzX) in the presence of dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin (DM-β-CD) was studied. Methylation or hydroxyalkylation of the hydroxyl groups in β-cyclodextrin increases their solubility and the highest possible concentration of DM-β-CD that can be dissolved in water is 0.2 M. The ability to use more readily soluble CDs may allow one to determine the stoichiometry of their complexes and the properties of water held in their cavity with increased precision. Based on the experimental results, this cyclodextrin forms host–guest complexes of variable stoichiometry where two reaction pathways are considered: in water and in the internal cavity of the cyclodextrin. We determined the rate constants for the halides in their reaction inside the internal cavity. This allowed the influence of the substituent and leaving group on the reactions in the bulk water and the internal cavity of DM-β-CD to be compared. Depending on whether the solvolysis reaction is preferentially associative or dissociative, the presence of the cyclodextrin has a catalytic or inhibitory effect, respectively.