0.05, Le., indistinguishable from I. For the system of eq 1 a similar inversion plot in 65% DMSO had afforded an intercept of 1.35 from which K2 was ~alculated.~ We now have serious reservations about this value because of a possibly erroneous extinction coefficient ( € 3 ) . For lack of any better value we were forced to use €3 determined in 85% DMSO. Our present study indicates that € 6 decreases from 32,200 in 80% DMSO to 21,000 in 50% DMSO. If c3' depends in a similar way on the solvent as does € 6 , the true intercept of said inversion plot would become indistinguishable from 1. Though the pKa values of compounds like RN(CH3)CHzCH20H (R (1971). = alkyl) have to t h e best of our knowledge not been reported, we expect such compounds to be slightly less acidic than compounds like ROCHzCH20H (pKa = 14.8 for R = methyl17) on the basis of a somewhat higher inductive effect in the latter. With R = 2,4-dinitrophenyl, resonance which is more important for the nitrogen analog (2a, 2b) would tend to counteract the inductive effect. I f the K , values were still substantially different, the more weakly basic anion (higher K1) would also be a weaker nucleophile (lower K 2 ) ; thus even in this worst case K I K~ would still be a reasonably good comparative measure for the stabilities of the two u complexes.Rate and equilibrium constants for the base-catalyzed addition of methanol to benzylideneanilines in methanol-acetonitrile (9O:lO v/v) were determined by means of spectrophotometry. The equilibrium constant increases by electron-withdrawing substituents in the aniline ring as well as in the benzylidene ring, showing a correlation with the u+ constants. Also the rate constant increases by electron-withdrawing groups, showing a Correlation with u in this case. The solvent deuterium isotope effects are 0.98 for KoM-H/KoMeOD and 0.60 for kfMeoH/kfMeoD. The structural change of alcohol leads to the Taft equation for equilibrium constant, KO: log (KoX/KoMe) = -8 . 2~~ + 0.48E,. The rate decreases in the order n-BuOH > EtOH > MeOH > sec-BuOH > t-BuOH > i-PrOH, showing no simple correlation. The observed base catalysis, substituent effect, and solvent isotope effect are best explained by a mechanism involving a rate-determining attack by the alkoxide ions on the imino carbon atom. Thermodynamic parameters are calculated. Equilibrium additions of nucleophiles to ( 3 0 bonds have been extensively studied1 but the studies on the additions to C!== N bonds are few except for the hydrolysis of Schiff and for the additions of amines5 and of hydrogen ~y a n i d e .~,~ Only a few reports have paid attention to the addition of alcohols to C=N.2383 Because of the higher b a s i c i t i e~~-~ and lower electrophilicity of C=N than those of (30,l these reactions involve the protonated Schiff bases, where negative p values have been observed.2-7 The present report describes the base-catalyzed equilibrium addition of alcohols to benzylideneanilines 1-1 1 in which no subsequent reactions such as C-N cleavage in hydrolysis occur. R'C,H&H=N C,...