Alkanes, chlorination complexes

Alkane chlorinations usually give a complex mixture of products => they are not... 

Since we first reported on the o-phenyl halogenated systems they and the more recent p-halogenated complexes have been widely studied as oxidation catalysts particularly as mimics of chytochrome P-4S0 and for the oxidation of alkanes using dioxygen without a coreductant. We shall concentrate here on the use of these highly chlorinated complexes as mimics of the ligiunases. 

Because alkane chlorinations usually yield a complex mixture of products, they are not useful as synthetic methods when the goal is preparation of a specific alkyl chloride. 

Ionic Chain Polymerization. Ionic chain polymerizations take place at relatively low or moderate temperatures and in solvating media so that the ionic centers propagate to polymeric size prior to termination. Only solvents of low or moderate polarity, e.g., alkanes, chlorinated hydrocarbons, toluene, nitrobenzene and tetrahydrofuran, are employed. Highly polar solvents such as alcohols or ketones cannot be used since they inactivate ionic initiators and propagating centers by reaction or strong complexation. 

The chain length, i.e. number of RH —> RC1 conversions per Cl produced by photolysis, is wlO6 for CH4, and the reaction can be explosive in sunlight. Chlorination can also be initiated thermolytically, but considerably elevated temperatures are required to effect Cl2 — 2C1, and the rate of chlorination of C2H6 in the dark at 120° is virtually indetectable. It becomes extremely rapid on the introduction of traces of PbEt4, however, as this decomposes to yield ethyl radicals, Et, at this temperature, and these can act as initiators Et- + Cl—Cl —> Et—Cl + Cl. Chlorination of simple alkanes such as these is seldom useful for the preparation of mono-chloro derivatives, as this first product readily undergoes further attack by the highly reactive chlorine, and complex product mixtures are often obtained. 

Hydrocaibons Free radical chlorination or bromfriatlon of alkanes gives a complex... 

Thus -alkanes (C10-C14) separated from the kerosene fraction of petroleum (by urea complexation or absorption with molecular sieves) are now used as one source of the alkyl group. Chlorination takes place anywhere along the chain at any secondary carbon. Friedel-Crafts alkylation followed by sulfonation and caustic treatment gives a more linear alkylbenzenesulfonate (LAS) which is soft or biodegradable. The chlorination process is now the source of about 40% of the alkyl group used for the manufacture of LAS detergent. 

Bunce, N. J., K. U. Ingold, J. P. Landers, J. Lusztyk, and J. C. Scaiano, Kinetic Study of the Photochlorination of 2,3-Dimethyl-butane and Other Alkanes in Solution in the Presence of Benzene. First Measurements of the Absolute Rate Constants for Hydrogen Abstraction by the Free Chlorine Atom and the Chlorine Atom-Benzene tr -Complex. Identification of These Two Species as the Only Hydrogen Abstractors in These Systems, . /. Am. Chem. Soc., 107, 5464-5472 (1985). 

Initially, we will be concerned with the physical properties of alkanes and how these properties can be correlated by the important concept of homology. This will be followed by a brief survey of the occurrence and uses of hydrocarbons, with special reference to the petroleum industry. Chemical reactions of alkanes then will be discussed, with special emphasis on combustion and substitution reactions. These reactions are employed to illustrate how we can predict and use energy changes — particularly AH, the heat evolved or absorbed by a reacting system, which often can be estimated from bond energies. Then we consider some of the problems involved in predicting reaction rates in the context of a specific reaction, the chlorination of methane. The example is complex, but it has the virtue that we are able to break the overall reaction into quite simple steps. 

The kinetics associated with catalytic reactions are complex however, some general trends can be determined. Reactions are often first order with respect to the reactant, and the rates of hydrodechlorination are faster than hydrogenation. Polyaromatic compounds react faster than monoaromatic compounds, and chlorinated alkenes react faster than their corresponding alkanes. Finally, the reaction rate often increases with increasing degree of chlorination, though this does not hold true for the chlorinated ethylenes. 

The Mn(IV)(salpn)Cl2 is a good oxidant, showing a reduction potential at +890 mV versus SCE. Other highly oxidized Mn complexes that contain chlorine have been shown to chlorinate alkanes, alkenes, and... 

A thoughtful reader would have noticed that, while plenty of methods are available for the reductive transformation of functionalized moieties into the parent saturated fragments, we have not referred to the reverse synthetic transformations, namely oxidative transformations of the C-H bond in hydrocarbons. This is not a fortuitous omission. The point is that the introduction of functional substituents in an alkane fragment (in a real sequence, not in the course of retrosynthetic analysis) is a problem of formidable complexity. The nature of the difficulty is not the lack of appropriate reactions - they do exist, like the classical homolytic processes, chlorination, nitration, or oxidation. However, as is typical for organic molecules, there are many C-H bonds capable of participating in these reactions in an indiscriminate fashion and the result is a problem of selective functionalization at a chosen site of the saturated hydrocarbon. At the same time, it is comparatively easy to introduce, selectively, an additional functionality at the saturated center, provided some function is already present in the molecule. Examples of this type of non-isohypsic (oxidative) transformation are given by the allylic oxidation of alkenes by Se02 into respective a,/3-unsaturated aldehydes, or a-bromination of ketones or carboxylic acids, as well as allylic bromination of alkenes with NBS (Scheme 2.64). 

Alkanes and arenes can also be activated to other reactions by platinum complexes in aqueous solution (57,58). For arenes in the presence of H2PtCl5, reduction from Pt(IV) to Pt(II) occurs and the arene undergoes chlorination. The reaction is catalyzed by platinum(II) (59). Similarly, if a platinum(IV) catalyst such as HjPtClg is used, chloroalkanes are formed from alkanes. As an example, chloromethane is formed from methane (Eq. 23) (60-62). Linear alkanes preferentially substitute at the methyl... 

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