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I know that cyclopropyl methyl carbocation is exceptionally stable compared to say, benzyl carbocation.

But I want to know how stable is cyclobutyl methyl carbocation compared to say, tertiary/secondary carbocations? Or, will it go rearrangement breaking the ring?

evil999man
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  • Did you mean a 3-methyl cyclopropene carbocation? I believe that's the aromatic compound that is exceptionally stable (read: still not that stable) - a regular methyl cyclopropane would be very strained, and with a charge I think it would be even less so. – qwersjc Mar 30 '14 at 03:15
  • @qwersjc No I am not talking about that. – evil999man Mar 30 '14 at 10:12
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    DOI: 10.1021/ja01473a028
    DOI: 10.1002/anie.196706661 http://thesis.library.caltech.edu/656/1/Silver_ms_1959.pdf
    http://thesis.library.caltech.edu/4757/1/Cox_ef_1955.pdf The original literature arises from these two theses.
    – Uncle Al Mar 29 '14 at 19:13

1 Answers1

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George Olah and coworkers have examined the cyclobutyldicyclopropylmethyl and the cyclobutylmethyl cation.

(Yes, this is an awfully short answer and I can't really provide more information on the topic.)

Klaus-Dieter Warzecha
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