Phenol from arenediazonium salts

Reaction with arenediazonium salts Adding a phe nol to a solution of a diazonium salt formed from a primary aromatic amine leads to formation of an azo compound The reaction is carried out at a pH such that a significant portion of the phenol is pres ent as its phenoxide ion The diazonium ion acts as an electrophile toward the strongly activated ring of the phenoxide ion... 

Arylamines are converted by diazotization with nitrous acid into arenediazonium salts, ArN2+ X-. The diazonio group can then be replaced by many other substituents in the Sandmeyer reaction to give a wide variety of substituted aromatic compounds. Aryl chlorides, bromides, iodides, and nitriles can be prepared from arenediazonium salts, as can arenes and phenols. In addition to their reactivity toward substitution reactions, diazonium salts undergo coupling with phenols and arylamines to give brightly colored azo dyes. 

Various aromatic amines, phenols, and compounds containing active methylene groups can be titrated with arenediazonium salts, from which 4-bromo-l-naphthale-nediazonium chloride seems to be the most widely applicable titrant. Compounds that react slowly with arenediazonium salts can be determined by back-titration when the excess of arenediazonium salt is back-titrated with either sodium tetraphenylborate or 2,4-diaminotoluene. Indirect determination is useful for secondary amines, which react with arenediazonium ions to form triazenes. The determination of diazonium salts of ampholytic character is based on the reaction of these salts with l-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone, the excess of which is titrated with 4-bromo-l-naphthalenediazonium chloride solution. 

Although the exact mechanism for iodobenzene formation from the diazonium cation is unclear, the phenyl cation is not an impossible intermediate, it is still considered to be the best candidate for the intermediate in phenol formation from arenediazonium salts and hot water (Section 22-4). In addition, it is known that diazonium cations exchange their bonded N2 with gaseous N2 (detected in isotope studies), direct evidence that reversible dissociation of N2 to leave behind a phenyl cation can take place. This system is an example of how a seemingly simple structure can exhibit a lot of complexity in its behavior. 

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