Anilines, electrophilic aromatic substitution

The orbital and resonance models for bonding in arylamines are simply alternative ways of describing the same phenomenon Delocalization of the nitrogen lone pair decreases the electron density at nitrogen while increasing it m the rr system of the aro matic ring We ve already seen one chemical consequence of this m the high level of reactivity of aniline m electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions (Section 12 12) Other ways m which electron delocalization affects the properties of arylamines are described m later sections of this chapter... 

Aniline and its derivatives are so reactive in electrophilic aromatic substitution that special strategies are usually necessary to carry out these reactions effectively. This topic is discussed in Section 22.14. 

Pyrrole, furan, and thiophene, on the other hand, have electron-rich aromatic rings and are extremely reactive toward electrophilic aromatic substitution— rnore like phenol and aniline than benzene. Like benzene they have six tt electrons, but these tt electrons are delocalized over five atoms, not six, and ar e not held as strongly as those of benzene. Even when the ring atom is as electronegative as oxygen, substitution takes place readily. 

Hydro-de-diazoniation seems to be an unnecessary reaction from the synthetic standpoint, as arenediazonium salts are obtained from the respective amines, reagents that are normally synthesized from the hydrocarbon. Some aromatic compounds, however, cannot be synthesized by straightforward electrophilic aromatic substitution examples of these are the 1,3,5-trichloro- and -tribromobenzenes (see below). These simple benzene derivatives are synthesized from aniline via halogenation, diazotization and hydro-de-diazoniation. Furthermore hydro-de-diazoniation is useful for the introduction of a hydrogen isotope in specific positions. 

As a result of these substituent-induced polarizations, the complementary conjugative interactions at each ring site become somewhat imbalanced (so that, e.g., the donor-acceptor interaction from C3—C4 to C5—C(, is 23.1 kcal mol-1, but that in the opposite direction is only 16.4 kcal mol-1). From the polarization pattern in (3.133) one can recognize that excess pi density is accumulated at the ortho (C2, C6) and para (C4) positions, and thus that the reactivity of these sites should increase with respect to electrophilic attack. This is in accord with the well-known o, /(-directing effect of amino substitution in electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions. Although the localized NBO analysis has been carried out for the specific Kckule structure of aniline shown in Fig. 3.40, it is easy to verify that exactly the same physical conclusions are drawn if one starts from the alternative Kekule structure. 

These polarizations are seen to be in the opposite direction to those in aniline (3.133), so that higher pi density remains at the Ci (junction) and C3 and C5 (meta) positions. These polarity shifts are again consistent with the well-known m-directing effect of nitro substituents in electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions, and the results are again quite independent of which starting Kekule structure is selected for the localized analysis.63... 

The initial product is a dihydroquinoline it is formed via Michael-like addition, then an electrophilic aromatic substitution that is facilitated by the electron-donating amine function. A mild oxidizing agent is required to form the aromatic quinoline. The Skraup synthesis can be used with substituted anilines, provided these substituents are not strongly electron withdrawing and are not acid sensitive. 

Aniline is an important derivative of benzene that can be made in two steps by nitration to nitrobenzene and either catalytic hydrogenation or acidic metal reduction to aniline. Both steps occur in excellent yield. Almost all nitrobenzene manufactured (97%) is directly converted into aniline. The nitration of benzene with mixed acids is an example of an electrophilic aromatic substitution involving the nitronium ion as the attacking species. The hydrogenation of nitrobenzene has replaced the iron-... 

Two moles of aniline react with formaldehyde to give p,p-methylenedianiline (MDA). MDA reacts with phosgene to give MDI. The student should develop the mechanism of this electrophilic aromatic substitution. 

Diazonium Salts as Electrophiles Diazo Coupling Arenediazonium ions act as weak electrophiles in electrophilic aromatic substitutions. The products have the structure Ar—N=N—Ar, containing the —N=N— azo linkage. For this reason, the products are called azo compounds, and the reaction is called diazo coupling. Because they are weak electrophiles, diazonium salts react only with strongly activated rings (such as derivatives of aniline and phenol). 

The most common reason for reducing aromatic nitro compounds is to make substituted anilines. Much of this chemistry was developed by the dye industry, which uses aniline derivatives for azo coupling reactions (Section 19-17) to make aniline dyes. Nitration of an aromatic ring (by electrophilic aromatic substitution) gives a nitro compound, which is reduced to the aromatic amine. 

The second route utilizes the introduction of the chlorosulfonyl substituent directly onto the aromatic nucleus. The reaction of substituted benzenes with chlorosulfonic acid gives good yields of arylsulfonyl chlorides however, the aryl substituent dictates the position of attachment of the chlorosulfonyl function in this electrophilic aromatic substitution.7 The method described herein allows replacement of a diazotized amine function by the chlorosulfonyl group. The ready availability of substituted anilines makes this the method of choice for the preparation of arylsulfonyl chlorides. 

A more interesting problem than the influence of substituents in the electrophilic reagent of azo coupling is the extremely high selectivity of the C-coupling reactions, relative to other electrophilic aromatic substitutions. Unsubstituted benzene does not react with any arenediazonium ion, 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene reacts very slowly with strongly electrophilic diazonium ions only aromatic amines (e.g. N,N-dimethyl-aniline) or phenolate ions react very fast, in some cases close to diffusion control. 

Acetanilide, having a much less basic N atom compared to aniline, undergoes electrophilic aromatic substitution under Friedel-Crafts conditions, forming a mixture of ortho and para products. 

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