Research

Herbert Mayr is well-known for his systematic investigations of the rates of polar organic reactions which yielded the most comprehensive reactivity scales for nucleophiles (species which are attracted by positive charge) and electrophiles (species which are attracted by negative charge) presently available. These scales cover a reactivity range of 36 orders of magnitude, corresponding to reaction times from 10^-9 seconds to 10²⁰ years, and provide a unique ordering system for polar organic reactivity. The reactivity scales allow the chemist to predict whether certain reactions are going to take place and how fast they will be. In particular, they allow to differentiate between activation and diffusion controlled processes, which is of fundamental importance for the selectivities of chemical reactions.