Aryl halides hydrolysis

The susceptibility of alkyl halides to hydrolysis is a function of the halide (generally, I > Br > Cl > F). In contrast, the rates of aryl halide hydrolysis are generally F > Cl > Br > I. The reversal of the order of rates is because aryl halides hydrolyze via an addition-elimination reaction (March, (129)). The nucleophilic addition step, which is typically the ratedetermining step, is facilitated by the strongly electronegative fluorine. 

Owing to the extreme difBculty of nucleophilic substitution of aryl halides, hydrolysis will not likely occur in natural waters. Nitro compounds also resist hydrolytic scission. Thus, in general, hydrolysis under ambient environmental conditions is highly improbable. 

By the hydrolysis of nitriles. The nitriles may be easily prepared either from amines by the Sandmeyer reaction (Section IV,66) or by the action of cuprous cyanide upon aryl halides (compare Section IV,163). Benzyl cyanide... 

Aryl halides with a halogen activated by electron-withdrawing groups react with pyrrolidine enamines of cyclic ketones (68) to give the a-arylated ketones after hydrolysis. The enamine (28) with 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene gave an excellent yield of 2(2,4-dinitrophenyl)cyclohexanone (88). The... 

A number of approaches have been tried for modified halo-de-diazoniations using l-aryl-3,3-dialkyltriazenes, which form diazonium ions in an acid-catalyzed hydrolysis (see Sec. 13.4). Treatment of such triazenes with trimethylsilyl halides in acetonitrile at 60 °C resulted in the rapid evolution of nitrogen and in the formation of aryl halides (Ku and Barrio, 1981) without an electron transfer reagent or another catalyst. Yields with silyl bromide and with silyl iodide were 60-95%. The authors explain the reaction as shown in (Scheme 10-30). The formation of the intermediate is indicated by higher yields if electron-withdrawing substituents (X = CN, COCH3) are present. In the opinion of the present author, it is likely that the dissociation of this intermediate is not a concerted reaction, but that the dissociation of the A-aryl bond to form an aryl cation is followed by the addition of the halide. The reaction is therefore mechanistically not related to the homolytic halo-de-diazoniations. 

Amides can also be alkylated with diazo compounds, as in 10-49. Salts of sulfonamides (ArS02NH ) can be used to attack alkyl halides to prepare N-alkyl sulfonamides (ArS02NHR) that can be further alkylated to ArS02NRR. Hydrolysis of the latter is a good method for the preparation of secondary amines. Secondary amines can also be made by crown ether assisted alkylation of F3CCONHR (R = alkyl or aryl) and hydrolysis of the resulting F3CCONRR. ... 

The addition of Grignard reagents to isocyanates gives, after hydrolysis, N-substituted amides. This is a very good reaction and can be used to prepare derivatives of alkyl and aryl halides. The reaction has also been performed with... 

Although not directly analogous to the coupling of thiols with aryl halides, the reaction of thiourea with an aryl halide in the presence of palladium catalyst, nevertheless, can be used to generate a thiophenol from an aryl halide after hydrolysis (Equation (39)).129 This process occurred in greater than 90% yield with a variety of simple aryl halides ... 

Gabriel synthesis is used for the preparation of primary amines. Phthalimide on treatment with ethanolic potassium hydroxide forms potassium salt of phthalimide which on heating with allqrl halide followed by alkaline hydrolysis produces the corresponding primary amine. Aromatic primary amines cannot be prepared by this method because aryl halides do not undergo nucleophilic substitution with the anion formed by phthalimide. 

A special case of SNAr is shown in Fig. 20. It actually involves a tandem 8 2-SNAr process on an Ugi adduct containing both an alkyl and an aryl halide. In 99, the acid-derived alkyl halide behaves therefore as a masked nucleophile. Treatment with thiourea (Sn2) forms an intermediate thiouronium salt which, upon basic hydrolysis, releases the required thiolate that undergoes the SnAt process. A library of benzothiazepinones 100 was produced in this way [92]. 

An alternate approach to the formation of pyridylboronic acids is the cross-coupling of a halopyridine with a diboronate ester (usually bis(pinacolato)diboron, 7.7.)9 The analogous reaction of 2-chloropyridine led to pyridine formation through protodeboronation. The product of the reaction, either after hydrolysis to the boronic acid or in the ester form, can be further reacted with another aryl halide to give a biaryl. In certain cases the reaction might also be carried out in a one-pot manner.10... 

Total basicity is measured by standard acid—base titration techniques. The activity divided by the total basicity should be greater than 90%. If it is not, then the Grignard reagent should be checked for unreacted alkyl or aryl halide, homo-coupled product, hydrolysis products, and oxidation products. 

However, displacement reactions of this type differ from the previously discussed displacements of activated aryl halides in that rearrangement often occurs. That is, the entering group does not always occupy the same position on the ring as that vacated by the halogen substituent. For example, the hydrolysis of 4-chloromethylbenzene at 340° gives an equimolar mixture of 3- and 4-methylbenzenols ... 

The base One equivalent, at least, of a base relative to the aryl halide must be present to achieve the alkene substitution catalytically. Most often a tertiary amine is employed. Secondary amines also appear to be suitable but primary amines usually are not. The base strength of the amine is important since only quite basic amines such as triethylamine work well. Acetate salts, carbonates and bicarbonates also are suitable bases but solubility may cause difficulties in some instances. The addition of a phase transfer agent such as a quaternary ammonium salt has often solved this problem. The inorganic bases, of course, may cause other problems such as ester hydrolysis, aldol condensations and other undesired side reactions. 

Aminobenzenesulphonic acid (orthanilic acid, Expt 6.64) is readily prepared by the reduction of 2-nitrobenzenesulphonic acid. The latter may be prepared by the hydrolysis of the corresponding sulphonyl chloride which is obtained from di-o-nitrophenyl disulphide. The preparation of this disulphide involves the use of the reactive aryl halide, 2-chloronitrobenzene (cf. Expts 6.93... 

Direct nucleophilic displacement of the halogen in an aryl halide is difficult and hydrolysis to phenols requires high temperatures and pressures the method is therefore only suitable on the large scale. The presence of a nitro group in the ortho or para position, however, makes the halogen more labile since electron withdrawal by the nitro group in these positions stabilises the intermediate anion by electron delocalisation. p-Chloronitrobenzene, for example, is hydrolysed to p-nitrophenol when heated with 15 per cent sodium hydroxide solution at about 150 °C. 

---