Aromatic hydrocarbons, reactions with unsaturated side-chains

Aromatic hydrocarbons with unsaturated side chains undergo the reactions characteristic of aromatic rings and of the carbon-carbon double or triple bond. (Their analysis by spectroscopic methods is discussed in Secs. 13.15-13.16.)... 

Chlorine atoms react with aromatic hydrocarbons, but only at a significant rate with those having saturated side chains from which the chlorine atom can abstract a hydrogen or unsaturated side chains to which it can add. For example, the rate constant for the Cl atom reaction with benzene is 1.3 X 10"15 enr3 molecule-1 s-1 (Shi and Bernhard, 1997). On the other hand, the rate constants for the reactions with toluene and p-xylene are 0.59 X 10-10 and 1.5 X 10-l() enr3 molecule"1 s"1, respectively (Shi and Bernhard, 1997), and that for reaction with p-cymene is 2.1 X 10"10 cm3 molecule"1 s-1 (Finlayson-Pitts et al., 1999). Hence... 

The side-chain alkylation reaction of aromatic hydrocarbons has also been studied using unsaturated aromatic olefins, especially styrene. Pines and Wunderlich 43) found that phenylethylated aromatics resulted from the reaction of styrenes with arylalkanes at 80-125° in the presence of sodium with a promoter. The mechanism of reaction is similar to that suggested for monoolefins, but addition does not take place to yield a primary carbanion a resonance stabilized benzylic carbanion is formed [Reaction (23a, b)j. 

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