Halides, alkyl, relative electrophilicity

Olivier and Berger335, who measured the first-order rate coefficients for the aluminium chloride-catalysed reaction of 4-nitroben2yl chloride with excess aromatic (solvent) at 30 °C and obtained the rate coefficients (lO5/ ) PhCI, 1.40 PhH, 7.50 PhMe, 17.5. These results demonstrated the electrophilic nature of the reaction and also the unselective nature of the electrophile which has been confirmed many times since. That the electrophile in these reactions is not the simple and intuitively expected free carbonium ion was indicated by the observation by Calloway that the reactivity of alkyl halides was in the order RF > RC1 > RBr > RI, which is the reverse of that for acylation by acyl halides336. The low selectivity (and high steric hindrance) of the reaction was further demonstrated by Condon337 who measured the relative rates at 40 °C, by the competition method, of isopropylation of toluene and isopropylbenzene with propene catalyzed by boron trifluoride etherate (or aluminium chloride) these were as follows PhMe, 2.09 (1.10) PhEt, 1.73 (1.81) Ph-iPr, (1.69) Ph-tBu, 1.23 (1.40). The isomer distribution in the reactions337,338 yielded partial rate factors of 2.37 /mMe, 1.80 /pMe, 4.72 /, 0.35 / , 2.2 / Pr, 2.55337 339. 

To be really satisfactory, a Friedel-Crafts alkylation requires one relatively stable secondary or tertiary carbocation to be formed from the alkyl halide by interaction with the Lewis acid, i.e. cases where there is not going to be any chance of rearrangement. Note also that we are unable to generate carboca-tions from an aryl halide - aryl cations (also vinyl cations, see Section 8.1.3) are unfavourable - so that we cannot nse the Friedel-Crafts reaction to join aromatic gronps. There is also one further difficulty, as we shall see below. This is the fact that introduction of an alkyl substitnent on to an aromatic ring activates the ring towards fnrther electrophilic substitution. The result is that the initial product from Friedel-Crafts alkylations is more reactive than the... 

The results obtained in the gas-phase isopropylation of various aromatic hydrocarbons with isopropyl chloride over Nafion-H catalyst showed only a relatively small variation of reactivity in going from fluorobenzene to xylenes.235 Therefore, it has been assumed that the reaction rate is controlled by the formation of a reactive electrophilic intermediate (possibly, protonated alkyl halide 61, or some form of incipient alkyl cation) rather than by cr-complex formation between the electrophile and the aromatic nucleus [Eq. (5.89)]. 

Before the effect of DMSO on the reaction rate in this alkylation can be rationalized, it is necessary to have some knowledge of charge distribution in the transition state. It was found that the relative rate coefficients for reaction of 9-CFA with the series of alkyl halides, R = Me, Et, Pr, cover a much smaller range than observed with other nucleophiles. This decreased selectivity is attributed to die high polarisability of the anion and its tendency to undergo significant orbital overlap with the electrophilic centre at a much greater distance than does a hard nucleophile. A symmetrical transition state... 

It should be stressed that growing species with diffused charge distributed along —N—C—0— group are relatively weak electrophiles. Thus, as discussed in Section II.B.6.C, ionic active species may exist when coupled with relatively nucleophilic counterions such as Br or I". The collapse of ion pairs into covalent alkyl halide end groups does proceed in the system, but these covalent species still react (although slower than... 

The hydrogen and the electrons in its bond to carbon, highlighted in 4-1, move to the adjacent carbon. Now the carbon from which the hydride left is deficient by one electron and is, thus, a carbocation. Because the new carbocation, 4-2, is tertiary, the molecule has gone from a relatively unstable primary carbocation to the much more stable tertiary carbocation. In the final step, the nucleophilic bromide ion reacts with the positive electrophilic tertiary carbocation to give the alkyl halide product. 

The best nucleophiles for the SrnI mechanism can make a relatively stable radical in the initiation part, either by resonance (enolates) or by placing the radical on a heavy element (second-row or heavier nucleophiles). The best electrophiles for the SrnI mechanism are able to delocalize the odd electron in the radical anion (aromatic leaving groups, carbonyl compounds), can make a stable radical (3° alkyl halides), and have a weak R-X (Br, I) bond. Tosylates and other pseudohalides are very poor SrnI electrophiles. If light is required for substitution to occur, the mechanism is almost certainly SrnI. 

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