The ERC Mechanism and the Formation of Abnormal Product in the Stevens Rearrangement

The reaction mechanism of the Stevens Rearrangement is very much controversial one. The formation of the products in Stevens Rearrangement mainly explained by the “radical pair mechanism” and sometimes by the “ionic pair mechanism”. But the two mechanisms are still very much controversial. To explain the formation of normal and abnormal product of the Stevens Rearrangement, I proposed a new mechanism scheme entitled the ERC (Elimination Recombination Coupling) mechanism. This mechanism will explain the formation of abnormal as well as normal product and will also maintain parity between the “radical pair mechanism” and the “ionic pair mechanism”. ESP model of Compound III (below) using ArgusLab 4.0.1