Ethyl triflate is much more reactive than ethyl mesylate toward nucleophiles in SN2 reactions. (a) Give the

Question:

Ethyl triflate is much more reactive than ethyl mesylate toward nucleophiles in SN2 reactions.

(a) Give the structures of all of the products formed when each compound reacts with potassium iodide in acetone (a polar aprotic solvent).
(b) Explain in detail why the triflate anion is a much weaker base than the mesylate anion.
(c) Explain why the relative reactivities of ethyl mesylate and ethyl triflate correlate inversely with the relative basicities of the two anions in (b).