Azoxybenzene, production

Reduction of substituted nitrobenzenes under alkaline conditions, usually with aqueous sodium acetate as electrolyte and a nickel cathode, is the classical method due to Elbs [45] for the formation of azo- and azoxy-compounds. Protons are used in the electrochemical reaction so that the catholyte becomes alkaline and under these conditions, phenylhydroxylamine reacts rapidly with nitrosobenzene to form azoxybenzene. Finely divided copper has long been known to catalyse the reduction of nitrobenzene to aniline in alkaline solution at the expense of azoxybenzene production [46]. Modem work confirms that whereas reduction of nitrobenzene at polycrystalline copper in alkaline solution gives mainly azoxybenzene, if the electrode is pre-oxidised in alkaline solution and then reduced just prior to the addition of nitrobenzene, high yields of aniline are obtained with good current efficiency... 

Add 23 g. of powdered (or flake ) sodium hydroxide to a solution of 15 ml. (18 g.) of nitrobenzene in 120 ml. of methanol contained in a 250 ml. short-necked bolt-head flask. Fix a reflux water-condenser to the flask and boil the solution on a water-bath for 3 hours, shaking the product vigorously at intervals to ensure thorough mixing. Then fit a bent delivery-tube to the flask, and reverse the condenser for distillation, as in Fig. 59, p. 100, or Fig. 23(D), p. 45). Place the flask in the boiling water-bath (since methanol will not readily distil when heated on a water-bath) and distil off as much methanol as possible. Then pour the residual product with stirring into about 250 ml. of cold water wash out the flask with water, and then acidify the mixture with hydrochloric acid. The crude azoxybenzene separates as a heavy oil, which when thoroughly stirred soon solidifies, particularly if the mixture is cooled in ice-water. 

Then filter off the solid azoxybenzene at the pump, wash it thoroughly with water, and drain well. Recrystallise from a minimum of m ethylated spirit, allowing the hot solution to cool spontaneously (with occasional stirring) until crystallisation starts, and then cool in ice-water. If crystallisation is delayed, seed the solution with a trace of the crude product if on the other hand the azoxybenzene separates at first as an emulsion, add methylated spirit, drop by drop, with stirring until the solution is clear, and then allow the cooling to proceed as before. The... 

The reduction of the nitro group to yield aniline is the most commercially important reaction of nitrobenzene. Usually the reaction is carried out by the catalytic hydrogenation of nitrobenzene, either in the gas phase or in solution, or by using iron borings and dilute hydrochloric acid (the Bechamp process). Depending on the conditions, the reduction of nitrobenzene can lead to a variety of products. The series of reduction products is shown in Figure 1 (see Amines byreduction). Nitrosobenzene, /V-pbenylbydroxylamine, and aniline are primary reduction products. Azoxybenzene is formed by the condensation of nitrosobenzene and /V-pbenylbydroxylamine in alkaline solutions, and azoxybenzene can be reduced to form azobenzene and hydrazobenzene. The reduction products of nitrobenzene under various conditions ate given in Table 2. 

Fig. 1. Reduction products of nitrobenzene (1) nitrosobenzene [98-95-3] (2) /V-pbenylbydroxyl amine [100-65-2] (3) aniline [62-53-3] (4) azoxybenzene...

In the reduction of nitro compounds to amines, several of the iatermediate species are stable and under the right conditions, it is possible to stop the reduction at these iatermediate stages and isolate the products (see Figure 1, where R = CgH ). Nitrosoben2ene [586-96-9] C H NO, can be obtained by electrochemical reduction of nitrobenzene [98-95-3]. Phenylhydroxylamine, C H NHOH, is obtained when nitrobenzene reacts with ziac dust and calcium chloride ia an alcohoHc solution. When a similar reaction is carried out with iron or ziac ia an acidic solution, aniline is the reduction product. Hydrazobenzene [122-66-7] formed when nitrobenzene reacts with ziac dust ia an alkaline solution. Azoxybenzene [495-48-7], C22H2QN2O, is... 

Hurley and Testa (Ref 17) exposed nitrobenzene in isopropyl alcohol, degassed and in air, to a mercury lamp at 3660A Products in the absence of air were acetone and phenyl-hydroxylamine (PHA). In air PHA was oxidized to nitro sob enzene which couples with PHA to form azoxybenzene. They hypothesized that the triplet molecule abstracted H-atoms from the solvent no effect was noted with ben zene as solvent. They also worked with nitrobenzene in isopropyl alcohol-water mixts containing HC1 with a mercury lamp at 3660A (Ref 18), and found that the quantum yields depended on pH and isopropyl alcohol content, but were independent of oxygen with acid present. Their conclusion was that the quantum yield consisted of two parts, H abstraction by the triplet, and protonation of the triplet... 

Baltrop and Bunce (Ref 20) employed a variety of radiation wavelengths, nitrocompds and solvents. For wavelengths less than 2900A, aniline was the main product, while above 2900A, bimolecular species such as azobenzene predominated. Since oxygen had little effect on aniline production, expts were performed in the presence of oxygen. For nitrobenzene in isopropyl alcohol, no azoxybenzene was produced as with Hurley and Testa (See above Ref 17). They concluded that the excited state abstracts H-atoms, and suggest that the nitrobenzene triplet is in tt, ti, and that nitrosobenzene is an unobserved intermediate... 

Additions of silyl-substituted synthons 965 to nitrones such as 962 a in the presence of LDA result in the products 966 which eliminate the lithium salt of O-tri-methylsilyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine 968 to give the olefins 967a or 967b in 72 and 39% yield, respectively [68, 69] (Scheme 7.20). The intermediate lithium salt 968 dimerizes with elimination of LiOSiMe3 98 to form azobenzene and azoxybenzene 961 [68, 69]. 

A similar nitrene intermediate can also be postulated in the mechanism of nitrosobenzene hydrogenation. Indeed a standard way of producing Ph-N is from the reaction of Ph-NO with PPhs (17). In the hydrogenation of nitrosobenzene the principal product in the early stages is azoxybenzene [7, 18]. It was suggested that azoxybenzene was formed by the following sequence ... 

Since nitrosobenzene condenses with phenylhydroxylamine forming azoxybenzene, the latter substance occurs amongst the decomposition products of phenylhydroxylamine. Also, by the action of alkalis, water is eliminated and azobenzene is produced. The action of acids will be discussed below. 

Experiment.—Azoxybenzenefromphenylhydroxylamine and nitrosobenzene.-—Phenylhydroxylamine (1 g.) is added to a solution of 1 g. of nitrosobenzene in 10 c.c. of alcohol. The mixture is shaken while a few drops of concentrated potassium hydroxide solution (1 1) are added, and is then warmed on the water bath for a few minutes. The yellowish-red solution thus formed deposits yellow crystals of the reaction-product when cooled and rubbed with a glass rod. Since azoxybenzene melts at 36°, it has a great tendency to separate from a supersaturated solution in the form of an oil. By recrystallisation from a little alcohol or from petrol ether (retain a few crystals for inoculation) the compound is obtained as a pale yellow or almost colourless solid. 

Since azoxybenzene is attacked by more powerful reducing agents, e.g. zinc dust and sodium hydroxide solution or ammonia, the use of such agents converts nitrobenzene to azobenzene and hydrazobenzene, by passing at once beyond the azoxybenzene stage. The three reduction products with paired " nitrogen atoms, therefore, stand in very close genetic relation to each other. 

Thus the joining of the two molecules by nitrogen takes place when azoxybenzene is formed, and the experiment described on p. 182 shows quite definitely that this substance is produced with extraordinary ease from phenylhydroxylamine and nitrosobenzene in the presence of alkali, that is to say, under the conditions which prevail during the production of the whole series. Nitrosobenzene is the first stage, but cannot be isolated, for in the course of the reaction it is trapped by the phenylhydroxylamine as soon as it is formed. 

Reactions of nitrosobenzene with aliphatic amines185 yield (phenylazo)alkanes and azoxybenzene as the main products. The adduct 67 is assumed to be an intermediate in obtaining both products, as seen in Scheme 3. 

The light-induced yellowing of musk ambrette 48 is simulated41 by photolysis of 48 in 0.1 N methanolic sodium hydroxide solution to give the azobenzene 50 (through the intermediacy of azoxybenzene) and by-products 51 and 52, by intramolecular photocyclization (equation 36). 

In some way formally similar to the benzidine rearrangement is the Wallach rearrangement of azoxybenzene 23 to give 4-hydroxyazobenzene 24 in concentrated (typically 95%) H2SO4. The 2-hydroxy isomer is sometimes formed in low yield with some substituted azoxybenzenes, and it is the main product in the photochemically induced reaction. Much of what is known about the reaction has been covered in earlier review articles28-30. This contribution will report work published since 1981. 

At low acidities oxidation of phenylhydroxylamine occurs yielding azoxybenzene and other products. This competing reaction can be eliminated by working anaerobically and can also be much reduced by working at high acidities, suggesting that the oxidation occurs via the free base form of phenylhydroxylamine. 

Bulky quaternary ammonium salts promote the ruthenium-catalysed oxidation of anilines by hydrogen peroxide to nitrobenzenes [25]. In the absence of the ammonium salt, the major product is the azoxybenzene, whereas lower molecular weight tetra-alkylammonium salts produce a mixture of products. 

Photolytic. Irradiation of trifluralin in hexane by laboratory light produced a,a,a-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-A-propyl-jo-toluidine and a,a,a-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-p-toluidine. The sunlight irradiation of trifluralin in water yielded a,a,a-trifluoro-A, 7 -dipropyl-5-nitrotoluene-3,4-diamine, a,a,a-trifluoro-A/ ,A/ -dipropyltoluene-3,4,5-triamine, 2-ethyl-7-nitro-5-(trifluoromethyl)benzimidazole, 2,3-dihydroxy-2-ethyl-7-nitro-l-propyl-5-(trifluoromethyl)benzimidazoline, and 2-ethyl-7-nitro-5-(trifluoromethyl)benzimidazole. 2-Amino-6-nitro-a,a,a-trifluoro-p-toluidine and 2-ethyl-5-nitro-7-(trifluoromethyl)benzimidazole also were reported as major products under acidic and basic conditions, respectively (Crosby and Leitis, 1973). In a later study, Leitis and Crosby (1974) reported that trifluralin in aqueous solutions was very unstable to sunlight, especially in the presence of methanol. The photodecomposition of trifluralin involved oxidative TV-dealkylation, nitro reduction, and reductive cyclization. The principal photodecomposition products of trifluralin were 2-amino-6-nitro-a,a,a-trifluoro-jo-toluidine, 2-ethyl-7-nitro-5-(trifluoromethyl)benzimida-zole 3-oxide, 2,3-dihydroxy-2-ethyl-7-nitro-l-propyl-5-(trifluoromethyl)benzimidazole, and two azoxybenzenes. Under alkaline conditions, the principal photodecomposition product was 2-ethyl-7-nitro-5-(trifluoromethyl)-benzimidazole (Leitis and Crosby, 1974). 

Sullivan. R.G., Knoche, H.W., and Markle, J.C. Photolysis of trifluralin characterization of azobenzene and azoxybenzene photodegradation products, J. Agric. Food Chem., 28(4) 746-755, 1980. 

Both the copper and nickel surfaces are efficient for the electrochemical reduction of nitrobenzene to aniline. With time however, the properties of this surface are transformed to those of the polycrystalline metal and azoxybenzene becomes as major reduction product [49]. 

Azoxybenzene is reducible under polarographic conditions. The final product is hydrazobenzene formed in an irreversible process for which the half-wave potential [105] varies with pH as illustrated in Fig. 11.3. The half-wave potential is close to that of the nitrobenzene. Azobenzene, which is an intermediate in the process, is... 

In the reaction profile shown in Figure 1 (similar to that shown by Smith et al. (10)) the initial product was azoxybenzene. However this figure is deceptive firstly azoxybenzene may be produced by a non-catalyzed reaction between nitrosobenzene and phenyl hydroxylamine (10), secondly the figure does not show the mass balance. Indeed at 10 min when all nitrosobenzene has been removed from the solution the amount of azoxybenzene formed was 18.6 mmol, equivalent to 37.2 mmol of reacted nitrosobenzene. Therefore, 42.8 mmol of the original 80 mmol of nitrosobenzene (53.5 %) were unaccounted for. It is possible that the missing mass is in the form of phenyl hydroxylamine in solution, which continues to disproportionate to produce aniline and nitrosobenzene and subsequently azoxybenzene and azobenzene. However as we shall subsequently discover this interpretation is unsustainable. 

Under similar conditions, cw-azobenzene could be oxidized to cw-azoxy-benzene. Evidently the only major precaution to be taken in this preparation is the exclusion of ultraviolet light (by carrying the reaction out in a dark room) [24]. Whether this precaution is truly required is open to some doubt since cis-azoxybenzenes were prepared more recently by oxidation while warming with a heating lamp [28]. The isomerization by ultraviolet light is probably an equilibrium process in which equilibrium constants have a pronounced dependence on the chemical constitution of the materials involved. Therefore variations in the observations of the stability of the products are not entirely surprising. 

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