The hydration of 2,2-dichloro-l-arylethanones was studied in water and tetrahydrofuran (THF)-water mixtures and the equilibrium constants in water were estimated for four ethanones. The process is subject to specific acid and to general base catalysis. The proton inventory technique was applied to the study of the reaction in L 2 0 and THF-LzO solutions (L = H or D). In pure water and water-rich mixtures, a very large number of protons participate in the open transition state, this number decreasing gradually with increasing water content in the mixture, until the minimum value of 2 is reached, corresponding to a cyclic, closed transition-state structure.

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