Arenes Friedel-Crafts reaction

The FeCls-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts reactions of electron-rich arenes with imines or aziridines provide a facile and convenient route for the synthesis of p-aryl... 

Under Lewis-acid-catalyzed conditions, electron-rich arenes can be added to alkenes to generate Friedel-Crafts reaction products. This subject will be discussed in detail in Chapter 7, on aromatic compounds. However, it is interesting to note that direct arylation of styrene with benzene in aqueous CF3CO2H containing H2PtCl6 yielded 30-5% zram-PhCH CHR via the intermediate PhPt(H20)Cl4.157 Hydropheny-lation of olefins can be catalyzed by an Ir(III) complex.158... 

The catalyst, although applied in 1.5 equiv., also worked well with heteroarenes in the alkylation reactions. A simple and most plausible mode for the enantioselectivity of the Friedel-Crafts reaction has been shown in Scheme 33. It is evident from the model that the arene would approach from the front (Si) face, as the back (Re) face is blocked by the phenyl group present on the silicon. 

Arene complexes are synthesized more cleanly by the Fischer-Hafner adaptation of the Friedel-Crafts reaction. In this reaction aluminum is used to reduce the metal salt... 

Friedel-Crafts reactions can be carried out on halobenzenes but not on arenes that are more strongly deactivated. 

Related classes of gitonic superelectrophiles are the previously mentioned protoacetyl dications and activated acyl cationic electrophiles. The acyl cations themselves have been extensively studied by theoretical and experimental methods,22 as they are intermediates in many Friedel-Crafts reactions. Several types of acyl cations have been directly observed by spectroscopic methods and even were characterized by X-ray crystal structure analysis. Acyl cations are relative weak electrophiles as they are effectively stabilized by resonance. They are capable of reacting with aromatics such as benzene and activated arenes, but do not generally react with weaker nucleophiles such as deactivated arenes or saturated alkanes. 

Friedel-Crafts alkylation. Reaction of arenes with acid chlorides in CH2C12 with AICI3 (1 equiv.) and (C2H5)3SiH (2.5-3 equiv.) results in the alkylated arene by deoxygenation of the intermediate acylated arene. Yields of 95% are obtainable, and this procedure avoids the problem of polyalkylation observed in regular Friedel-Crafts reactions.3... 

Bis(r 6-aryl) derivatives of molybdenum have been prepared by the co-condensation of the arene and molybdenum atoms at 77 K.305 Friedel-Crafts reactions catalysed by [(r 6-arene)Mo(CO)3] complexes have been developed further, and such reactions with organic halides shown to proceed via an ionic mechanism.306... 

The yellow CpFe1 (//6-arene) salts (most commonly BF4 or PF6 ) are usually stable up to at least 200 °C, are stable in concentrated sulfuric acid, and are very resistant towards oxidation (until recently, it was believed that they could not be oxidized [23] vide infra). They are not easy to reduce either [23] (vide infra). The chloride salts [CpFe+( f -arene) Cl- are water-soluble they are formed upon hydrolysis following ligand-exchange reactions between ferrocene and the arene in the presence of aluminum chloride [21]. Such aqueous solutions may sometimes be directly used for nucleophilic reactions [22] (vide infra). The BF4- salts are also sometimes quite soluble in water, but the PF6- salts are much less so. Electrophilic reactions that are readily undergone by the free arenes, such as Friedel-Crafts reactions, are no longer possible on the CpFe+( /6-arene) complexes [19, 23]. On the other hand, a range of nucleophilic reactions that are impossible or very difficult to carry out with free arenes become possible under ambient or mild conditions with the CpFe+()/6-arene) complexes (Scheme 2) [16-20]. 

One exception to the amorphous structure has been reported [30]. Crystalline polybenzyl was obtained from the low temperature (- 125° C) polymerization of benzyl chloride. However, the reaction was difficult to reproduce [31,32]. Consequently this procedure is not an effective method for the synthesis of linear polybenzyls. The usual amorphous, highly branched structure is formed as a result of a lack of positional selectivity and multiple substitution of the arene rings. Similar polymeric structures are obtained upon the polymerization of other nonsubstituted benzyl halides and benzyl alcohol [29]. The highly branched structure is a consequence of the involvement of benzyl carbenium ions in the Friedel-Crafts reaction. Benzyl substituents activate the monosubstituted phenyl groups toward further benzylation reaction. However, monomers containing alkyl substituents that sterically hinder substitution at the ortho position have been polymerized to linear polybenzyls. For example, the following... 

Friedel-Crafts reaction of arenes with a-chloro-a-(methylthio)acetophenones [19], When A -phenylbenzimidoyl chlorides are aroylated with an aryl halide in the presence of a catalytic amount of an azoliuni salt (such as 1,3-dimethylimidazolium iodide) and sodium hydride, followed by acid treatment in TUF, unsymmetrical benzils can be isolated in 80-92% yields [201. Added to this method is the sequence ketone enaminoketone a-diketone, which cleaves a carbon-carbon double bond in the final stage by photooxygenation [21]. 

McMills, M. C., Wright, D. L., Weekly, R. M. Synthesis of highly functionalized arene systems. Novel selectivities of intra- and intermolecular Friedel-Crafts reactions. Synth. Commun. 2002, 32, 2417-2425. 

Some of the earliest-known examples of Friedel-Crafts reactions were alkylations of arenes using alkyl halides. Since then, however, a wide variety of alkylating agents has been used (Table 1) they include alkenes, alkynes, alcohols and various other reagents. 

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