Aryl halides nucleophilic reactions

Kinetic studies of these reactions reveal that they follow a second order rate law Rate = [Aryl halide] [Nucleophile]... 

Nucleophilic aromatic photosubstitution reactions have been divided into five mechanistic categories17 and each of these mechanistic types has its representatives in the class of aryl halides. Which reaction pathway is followed in any particular case depends on a number of factors such as the nature of the leaving group, the presence of electron-donating or electron-withdrawing substituents on the aromatic ring, the solvent, the multiplicity and the lifetime of the reactive excited state and the presence or absence of electron donors or acceptors in the reaction medium. This renders it rather difficult to make predictions about the mechanistic course that will be followed under a given set of circumstances. 

The reaction of a nucleophile with a benzene ring is very rare. This can only occur when strongly electron-withdrawing substituents (e.g. N02) are at the ortho- and/or para- positions of aryl halides. The reaction... 

These reactions follow first-order kinetics and proceed with racemisalion if the reaction site is an optically active centre. For alkyl halides nucleophilic substitution proceeds easily primary halides favour Sn2 mechanisms and tertiary halides favour S 1 mechanisms. Aryl halides undergo nucleophilic substitution with difficulty and sometimes involve aryne intermediates. 

An efficient carboannulation proceeds by the reaction of vinylcyclopropane (135) or vinylcyclobutane with aryl halides. The multi-step reaction is explained by insertion of alkene, ring opening, diene formation, formation of the TT-allylpalladium 136 by the readdition of H—Pd—I, and its intramolecular reaction with the nucleophile to give the cyclized product 137[I08]. 

A key step in the reaction mechanism appears to be nucleophilic attack on the alkyl halide by the negatively charged copper atom but the details of the mechanism are not well understood Indeed there is probably more than one mechanism by which cuprates react with organic halogen compounds Vinyl halides and aryl halides are known to be very unreactive toward nucleophilic attack yet react with lithium dialkylcuprates... 

Noticeably absent from Table 23 3 are nucleophilic substitutions We have so far seen no nucleophilic substitution reactions of aryl halides m this text Chlorobenzene for example is essentially inert to aqueous sodium hydroxide at room temperature Reac tion temperatures over 300°C are required for nucleophilic substitution to proceed at a reasonable rate... 

The generally accepted mechanism for nucleophilic aromatic substitution m nitro substituted aryl halides illustrated for the reaction of p fluoromtrobenzene with sodium methoxide is outlined m Figure 23 3 It is a two step addition-elimination mechanism, m which addition of the nucleophile to the aryl halide is followed by elimination of the halide leaving group Figure 23 4 shows the structure of the key intermediate The mech anism is consistent with the following experimental observations... 

Aryl halides are less reactive than alkyl halides m reactions m which C—X bond breaking is rate determining especially m nucleophilic sub stitution reactions... 

The reaction between an alkoxide ion and an aryl halide can be used to prepare alkyl aryl ethers only when the aryl halide is one that reacts rapidly by the addition-elim mation mechanism of nucleophilic aromatic substitution (Section 23 6)... 

Unlike elimination and nucleophilic substitution reactions, fonnation of organo-lithium compounds does not require that the halogen be bonded to 5/) -hybiidized car bon. Compounds such as vinyl halides and aryl halides, in which the halogen is bonded to sp -hybiidized carbon, react in the sane way as alkyl halides, but at somewhat slower rates. 

The strength of their- car bon-halogen bonds causes aryl halides to react very slowly in reactions in which carbon-halogen bond cleavage is rate-detenrrining, as in nucleophilic substitution, for example. Later in this chapter we will see exanples of such reactions that do take place at reasonable rates but proceed by mechanisms distinctly different from the classical SnI and Sn2 pathways. 

The most common types of aryl halides in nucleophilic aromatic substitutions are those that bear- o- or p-nitro substituents. Among other classes of reactive aryl halides, a few merit special consideration. One class includes highly fluorinated aromatic compounds such as hexafluorobenzene, which undergoes substitution of one of its fluorines on reaction with nucleophiles such as sodium methoxide. 

Elimination-addition mechanism (Section 23.8) Two-stage mechanism for nucleophilic aromatic substitution. In the first stage, an aryl halide undergoes elimination to form an aryne intermediate. In the second stage, nucleophilic addition to the aryne yields the product of the reaction. 

Although nor shown in the preceding reactivity order, vinylic halides (R2C=CRX) and aryl halides are unreactive toward Sn2 reaction. This lack of reactivity is probably due to steric factors, because the incoming nucleophile... 

As we ve seen, aromatic substitution reactions usually occur by an electrophilic mechanism. Aryl halides that have electron-withdrawing substituents, however, can also undergo nucleophilic aromatic substitution. For example. 2,4,6-trinitrochlorobenzene reacts with aqueous NaOH at room temperature to give 2,4,6-trinitrophenol. The nucleophile OH- has substituted for Cl-. 

How- does this reaction take place Although it appears superficially similar to the SN1 and S 2 nucleophilic substitution reactions of alkyl halides discussed in Chapter 11, it must be different because aryl halides are inert to both SN1 and Sj 2 conditions. S l reactions don t occur wdth aryl halides because dissociation of the halide is energetically unfavorable due to tire instability of the potential aryl cation product. S]sj2 reactions don t occur with aryl halides because the halo-substituted carbon of the aromatic ring is sterically shielded from backside approach. For a nucleophile to react with an aryl halide, it would have to approach directly through the aromatic ring and invert the stereochemistry of the aromatic ring carbon—a geometric impossibility. 

Nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction (Section 16.7) The substitution reaction of an aryl halide by a nucleophile. 

Sandmeyer reaction (Section 24.8) The nucleophilic substitution reaction of an arenediazonium salt with a cuprous halide to yield an aryl halide. 

Today microemulsions are used in catalysis, preparation of submicron particles, solar energy conversion, extraction of minerals and protein, detergency and lubrication [58]. Most studies in the field of basic research have dealt with the physical chemistry of the systems themselves and only recently have microemulsions been used as a reaction medium in organic synthesis. The reactions investigated to date include nucleophilic substitution and additions [59], oxidations [59-61], alkylation [62], synthesis of trialkylamines [63], coupling of aryl halides [64], nitration of phenols [65], photoamidation of fluoroolefins [66] and some Diels-Alder reactions. 

The method is quite useful for particularly active alkyl halides such as allylic, benzylic, and propargylic halides, and for a-halo ethers and esters, but is not very serviceable for ordinary primary and secondary halides. Tertiary halides do not give the reaction at all since, with respect to the halide, this is nucleophilic substitution and elimination predominates. The reaction can also be applied to activated aryl halides (such as 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene see Chapter 13), to epoxides, " and to activated alkenes such as acrylonitrile. The latter is a Michael type reaction (p. 976) with respect to the alkene. 

In certain cases, Michael reactions can take place under acidic conditions. Michael-type addition of radicals to conjugated carbonyl compounds is also known.Radical addition can be catalyzed by Yb(OTf)3, but radicals add under standard conditions as well, even intramolecularly. Electrochemical-initiated Michael additions are known, and aryl halides add in the presence of NiBr2. Michael reactions are sometimes applied to substrates of the type C=C—Z, where the co-products are conjugated systems of the type C=C—Indeed, because of the greater susceptibility of triple bonds to nucleophilic attack, it is even possible for nonactivated alkynes (e.g., acetylene), to be substrates in this... 

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