Reviews: 2011 Vol: 3 Issue: 1
The controversial reaction mechanism of Stevens rearrangement: A review
Abstract
From the date of discovery the Stevens Rearrangement is one of the most important name reactions and it is still under investigation due to its controversial reaction mechanism. Though the radical pair mechanism has much more theoretical and CIDNP proof over ionic pair mechanism and other mechanisms in controlling the Stevens rearrangement but still it is in doubt because of its noncompatibility with some abnormal products. This paper goes through all the reaction mechanisms proposed by various scientists on Stevens Rearrangement and their theoretical or chemical explanations.