The reactivity of nitrogen mustards increases with increasing nucleophilicity of the central nitrogen atom. Select the most and least reactive from each of the following groups of nitrogen mustards.
My Attempt
I know that II will be the most reactive since the methyl group will donate electron density to the nitrogen atom due to inductive effects, making it more nucleophilic and hence more reactive.
I also thought that III will be the least reactive since the ester group pulls more electron density away from the nitrogen atom compared to the carbonyl group. I also thought in general that esters are stronger deactivators than carbonyl groups. However the answer is I.
After searching on the internet, it turns out that esters and carbonyl groups are roughly equally strong deactivators. So how am I suppose to determine which one will be less nucleophilic?