Consider the following chlorides: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) The correct order of reactivity of these compounds towards hydrolysis by an S _ N 1 mechanism is:

Step-by-step solution

The reactivity of a compound towards an S _ N 1 mechanism depends on the stability of the carbocation intermediate formed in the rate-determining step. The carbocations formed by the given chlorides are: (i) Benzyl cation: C ₆ H ₅ CH ₂^+ (ii) p-Methylbenzyl cation: p -CH ₃ -C ₆ H ₄ CH ₂^+ (iii) p-Methoxybenzyl cation: p -CH ₃ O -C ₆ H ₄ CH ₂^+ (iv) p-Nitrobenzyl cation: p -NO ₂ -C ₆ H ₄ CH ₂^+ Electron-donating groups stabilize the carbocation, while electron-withdrawing groups destabilize it. In (iii), the - OCH ₃