Aromatic hydrocarbons, reactions

TABLE 6.16 Rate Constants at Room Temperature for OH - Aromatic Hydrocarbon Reactions and Branching Ratios for the Abstraction Reaction"... 

Bhattachaijee, M. 1992. Activation of bromide by vanadium pentoxide for the bro-mination of aromatic hydrocarbons Reaction mimic for the enzyme bromoperoxidase. Polyhedron 11 2817-2817. 

Gattermann-Koch reaction Formylation of an aromatic hydrocarbon to yield the corresponding aldehyde by treatment with CO, HCl and AICI3 at atmospheric pressure CuCl is also required. The reaction resembles a Friedel-Crafts acylation since methanoyl chloride, HCOCl, is probably involved. 

Methods of producing B —C bonds include hydroboration, nucleophilic displacement at a boron atom in BX., (X = halogens or B(0R>3) by e.g. a Grignard reagent, and a psewiio-Friedel-Crafts reaction with an aromatic hydrocarbon, BX3, and AICI3. 

A further difference between aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons is that only the latter are capable of direct sulphonation. Thus benzene when heated with concentrated sulphuric acid gives benzenesulphonic acid, a reaction which proceeds more readily, however, if chlorosulphonic acid is used instead of sulphuric acid an excess of chlorosulphonic acid however may convert the sul phonic acid into the sulphonyl chloride (c/. p. 181). 

The free radical mechanism is confirmed by the fact that if a substituted aromatic hydrocarbon is used in this reaction, the incoming group (derived from the diazotate) may not necessarily occupy the position in the benzene ring normally determined by the substituent present—a characteristic of free radical reactions. 

TTie true ketones, in which the >CO group is in the side chain, the most common examples being acetophenone or methyl phenyl ketone, C HjCOCH, and benzophenone or diphenyl ketone, C HjCOC(Hj. These ketones are usually prepared by a modification of the Friedel-Crafts reaction, an aromatic hydrocarbon being treated with an acyl chloride (either aliphatic or aromatic) in the presence of aluminium chloride. Thus benzene reacts with acetyl chloride... 

The Friedel-Crafts Reaction, in which an aromatic hydrocarbon reacts with an alkyl halide under the influence of aluminium chloride ... 

Friedel and Crafts reaction. alkyl halide condenses with an aromatic hydrocarbon in the presence of anhydrous aluminium chloride to yield, in the first instance, a hydrocarbon in accordance with the following scheme —... 

Two interesting appbcations of the Friedel and Crafts reaction to the preparation of aromatic hydrocarbons will bo described, iriz. —... 

Unlike aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons can be sul-phonated and nitrated they also form characteristic molecular compounds with picric acid, styphnic acid and 1 3 5-trinitrobenzene. Many of the reactions of aromatic hydrocarbons will be evident from the following discussion of crystalline derivatives suitable for their characterisation. 

The following reactions will assist the student in the identification of halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons. 

SULPHONATION OF AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS Aromatic hydrocarbons may be mono-sulphonated by heating with a slight excess of concentrated sulphuric acid for benzene, oleum (7-8 per cent. SOj) gives somewhat better results. The reaction is usually complete when all the hydrocarbon has dissolved. Examples are ... 

By passing a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen chloride into the aromatic hydrocarbon in the presence of a mixture of cuprous chloride and aluminium chloride which acts as a catalyst (Gattermann - Koch reaction). The mixture of gases probably reacts as the equivalent of the unisolated acid chloride of formic acid (formyl chloride) ... 

More information has appeared concerning the nature of the side reactions, such as acetoxylation, which occur when certain methylated aromatic hydrocarbons are treated with mixtures prepared from nitric acid and acetic anhydride. Blackstock, Fischer, Richards, Vaughan and Wright have provided excellent evidence in support of a suggested ( 5.3.5) addition-elimination route towards 3,4-dimethylphenyl acetate in the reaction of o-xylene. Two intermediates were isolated, both of which gave rise to 3,4-dimethylphenyl acetate in aqueous acidic media and when subjected to vapour phase chromatography. One was positively identified, by ultraviolet, infra-red, n.m.r., and mass spectrometric studies, as the compound (l). The other was less stable and less well identified, but could be (ll). 

An important property of aromatic hydrocarbons is that they are much more stable and less reactive than other unsaturated compounds Ben zene for example does not react with many of the reagents that react rapidly with alkenes When reaction does take place substitution rather than addition is observed The Kekule formulas for benzene seem mcon sistent with its low reactivity and with the fact that all of the C—C bonds m benzene are the same length (140 pm)... 

Section 12 17 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons undergo the same kind of electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions as benzene... 

Uses. The principal use of adiponitrile is for hydrogenation to hexamethylene diamine leading to nylon-6,6. However, as a result of BASE s new adiponitrile-to-caprolactam process, a significant fraction of ADN produced may find its way into nylon-6 production. Adipoquanamine, which is prepared by the reaction of adiponitrile with dicyandiamide [461-58-5] (cyanoguanidine), may have uses in melamine—urea amino resins (qv) (see "Benzonitrile, Uses"). Its typical Hquid nitrile properties suggest its use as an extractant for aromatic hydrocarbons. 

The methyl and ethyl esters of cyanoacetic acid are slightly soluble ia water but are completely miscible ia most common organic solvents including aromatic hydrocarbons. The esters, like the parent acid, are highly reactive, particularly ia reactions involving the central carbon atom however, the esters tend not to decarboxylate. They are prepared by esterification of cyanoacetic acid and are used principally as chemical iatermediates. 

Acetyl chlotide reacts with aromatic hydrocarbons and olefins in suitably inert solvents, such as carbon disulfide or petroleum ether, to furnish ketones (16). These reactions ate catalyzed by anhydrous aluminum chlotide and by other inorganic chlotides (17). The order of catalytic activity increases in the order... 

Difluoronaphthalene [315-52-6] is prepared from 4-fluoro-l-naphthylarnine by the Balz-Schiemann reaction. 1,4-Difluoronaphthalene is used in chemical carcinogenesis studies as a synthon for highly condensed difluoro—polycycHc aromatic hydrocarbons (273). 

Amides result from the reaction of aromatic hydrocarbons with isocyanates, such as phenyl isocyanate [103-71-9], ia the presence of aluminum chloride. Phenyl isothiocyanate [103-72-0] similarly gives thioanilides (136). 

Sulfonation of aromatic hydrocarbons with sulfuric acid is cataly2ed by hydrogen fluoride or, at lower temperatures, by boron trifluoride (144). The products obtained are more uniform and considerably less sulfuric acid is needed, probably because BF forms complexes with the water formed ia the reaction, and thus prevents dilution of the sulfuric acid. 

Another type of soHd supetacid is based on perfluorinated resin sulfonic acid such as the acid form of Du Font s Nafion resin, a copolymer of a perfluorinated epoxide and vinylsulfonic acid or soHd, high molecular weight petfluotoalkanesulfonic acids such as petfluotodecanesulfonic acid, CF2(CF2)qS02H. Such sohd catalysts have been found efficient in many alkylations of aromatic hydrocarbons (225) and other Friedel-Crafts reactions (226). 

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