Benzene, acylation with nitric acid

Anthraquinone itself is traditionally available from the anthracene of coal tar by oxidation, often with chromic acid or nitric acid a more modern alternative method is that of air oxidation using vanadium(V) oxide as catalyst. Anthraquinone is also produced in the reaction of benzene with benzene-1,2-dicarboxylic anhydride (6.4 phthalic anhydride) using a Lewis acid catalyst, typically aluminium chloride. This Friedel-Crafts acylation gives o-benzoylbenzoic acid (6.5) which undergoes cyclodehydration when heated in concentrated sulphuric acid (Scheme 6.2). Phthalic anhydride is readily available from naphthalene or from 1,2-dimethylbenzene (o-xylene) by catalytic air oxidation. 

Thiophene is chlorinated by CI2 or SO2CI2. Bromination occurs by Br2 in acetic acid or with N-bromosuccinimide. Nitration is effected by concentrated nitric acid in acetic acid at 10°C. Further substitution predominantly yields 2,4-dinitrothiophene. Sulfonation with 96% H2SO4 occurs at 30°C within minutes. Benzene reacts extremely slowly under these conditions. This provides the basis for a method to remove thiophene from coal tar benzene (see p 77). Alkylation of thiophenes often gives only poor yields. However, more efficient procedures are the Vilsmeier-Haack formylation, which yields thiophene-2-carbaldehyde, and acylation with acyl chlorides in the presence of tin tetrachloride, to give 2-acylthiophenes. Like furan, thiophene is mercurated with mercury(II) chloride. 

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