A reluctant first-order substrate can be forced to ionize by adding some silver nitrate...

A reluctant first-order substrate can be forced to ionize by adding some silver nitrate (one ofthe few soluble silver salts) to the reaction. Silver ion reacts with the halogen to form a silverhalide (a highly exothermic reaction), generating the cation of the alkyl group.

Give mechanisms for the following silver-promoted rearrangements.

(a)

(b)