Benzenoid compounds

Several studies on the direct fluorination of aromatic compounds have been carried out and, although the reaction conditions were not the same in each case, there are several generalisations that can be made [136-143]. 

In principle, two mechanisms involving either one or two-electron transfer from the aromatic substrate to fluorine may occur and, in practice, the mechanism of fluorination of any given aromatic molecule probably lies between these two extremes. The distinction between electron transfer (Path A, Fig. 55) and SN2-type processes (Path B, Fig. 55) in reactions between various electrophilic fluorinating agents and nucleophiles has been addressed by Differding [144, 145] but these principles can also be applied to reactions involving elemental fluorine. 

Fluorination of toluene gives a mixture of ortho- and para- uorotoluene, as expected for an electrophilic process (B), but the partial rate factors (Table 4) [139] show a very high ortho para ratio indicating that radical processes (A) must also be involved. Furthermore, fluorination of the methyl group, giving benzyl fluoride, also occurs in increasing yield as the reaction temperature is raised. 

The fluorination of other activated aromatic compounds, such as anisole and phenol, undergo monofluorination mainly in the ortho and para positions, whereas the fluorination of deactivated aromatics, such as nitrobenzene, trifluoromethylbenzene and benzoic acid, give predominantly the corresponding meta fluoro-derivatives which is consistent with a typical electrophilic substitution process. Also, fluoro-, chloro- and bromo-benzenes are deactivated with respect to benzene itself but are fluorinated preferentially in the ortho and para positions [139]. At higher temperatures, polychlorobenzenes undergo substitution and addition of fluorine to give chlorofluorocyclohexanes [136]. 

The nature of the solvent has a major effect on the rate (extent) of reaction. Recently, polar and acidic solvents have been used as reaction media to promote the electrophilic fluorination pathway (B) in which the interaction between fluorine and the acid is envisaged (Fig. 56) [146,147]. 

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In this initial section the reactivities of the major types of azole aromatic rings are briefly considered in comparison with those which would be expected on the basis of electronic theory, and the reactions of these heteroaromatic systems are compared among themselves and with similar reactions of aliphatic and benzenoid compounds. Later in this chapter all the reactions are reconsidered in more detail. It is postulated that the reactions of azoles can only be rationalized and understood with reference to the complex tautomeric and acid-base equilibria shown by these systems. Tautomeric equilibria are discussed in Chapter 4.01. Acid-base equilibria are considered in Section 4.02.1.3 of the present chapter. 

Pyrylium salts alkyl groups reactivity, 3, 662 aromaticity, 3, 640 arylammes from, 3, 657 benzenoid compounds from, 3, 656, 658 benzisoxazol-3-yl-synthesis, 6, 124 bicyclic... 

In general conclusion, the HMO and SCF methods both appear able to make reasonably accurate predictions about the stabilization in conjugated moleeules. The stabilization is general for benzenoid compounds but quite restricted in nonbenzenoid systems. Because the HMO method of estimating stabiUty is based on the ideas of HMO theory, its general success vindicates the ability of this very simplified MO approach to provide insight into the structural nature of the aimulenes and other conjugated polyenes. More sophisticated MO methods, of course, are now accessible and should be applied for more detailed analysis of the structures of these molecules. 

R. O. C. Norman and R. Taylor, Electrophilic Substitution in Benzenoid Compounds, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1965. G. A. Olah, Friedel-Crafts Chemistry, John Wiley Sons, New York, 1973. 

The Birch reduction of a benzenoid compound involves the addition of two electrons and two protons to the ring. The order in which these additions occur has been the subject of both speculation and study. Several reviews of the subject are available and should be consulted for details. The present discussion is concerned with summarizing data that is relevant to understanding the reaction from the preparative point of view. For convenience, reaction intermediates are shown without indicating their solvation by liquid ammonia. This omission should not obscure the fact that such solvation is largely responsible for the occurrence of the Birch reduction. 

The production of aryl radicals from peroxides normally provides a cleaner method of arylation than the methods based on the decomposition of azo and diazo compounds, and, in the case of benzenoid compounds, better yields of arylated products are obtained. The... 

Three possible routes have been considered for the arylation of a benzenoid compound (see Scheme 1). 

A distinction between these four possibilities can be made on the basis of the kinetic isotope effect. There is no isotope effect in the arylation of deuterated or tritiated benzenoid compounds with dibenzoyl peroxide, thereby ruling out mechanisms in which a C5— bond is broken in the rate-determining step of the substitution. Paths (ii) and (iii,b) are therefore eliminated. In path (i) the first reaction, Eq. (6), is almost certain to be rate-determining, for the union of tw o radicals, Eq. (7), is a process of very low activation energy, while the abstraction in which a C—H bond is broken would require activation. More significant evidence against this path is that dimers, Arz, should result from it, yet they are never isolated. For instance, no 4,4 -dinitrobiphenyl is formed during the phenylation of... 

As a result of most of the early work on the homolytic arylation of monosubstituted benzenoid compounds it was concluded that the attacking radical was directed to the ortho and para positions in the benzene ring regardless of the nature of the substituent. Similarly,... 

In many cases, however, the ortho isomer is the predominant product, and it is the meta para ratio which is close to the statistical value, in reactions both on benzenoid compounds and on pyri-dine. " There has been no satisfactory explanation of this feature of the reaction. One theory, which lacks verification, is that the radical first forms a complex with the aromatic compound at the position of greatest electron density that this is invariably cither the substituent or the position ortho to the substituent, depending on whether the substituent is electron-attracting or -releasing and that when the preliminary complex collapses to the tr-complex, the new bond is most likely to be formed at the ortho position.For heterocyclic compounds such as pyridine it is possible that the phenyl radical complexes with the nitrogen atom and that a simple electronic reorganization forms the tj-complex at the 2-position. 

Tropones are non-benzenoid compounds that behave like 47r-components in a Diels Alder reaction. These compounds are of interest because of their synthetic applications based on the Diels Alder reaction, since the cycloadducts can be easily converted into a large variety of compounds. 

Korany et al. [28] used Fourier descriptors for the spectrophotometric identification of miconazole and 11 different benzenoid compounds. Fourier descriptor values computed from spectrophotometric measurements were used to compute a purity index. The Fourier descriptors calculated for a set of absorbencies are independent of concentration and is sensitive to the presence of interferents. Such condition was proven by calculating the Fourier descriptor for pure and degraded benzylpenicillin. Absorbance data were measured and recorded for miconazole and for all the 11 compounds. The calculated Fourier descriptor value for these compounds showed significant discrimination between them. Moreover, the reproducibility of the Fourier descriptors was tested by measurement over several successive days and the relative standard deviation obtained was less than 2%. 

Reduction of aromatic compounds to dihydro derivatives by dissolved metals in liquid ammonia (Birch reduction) is one of the fundamental reactions in organic chemistry308. When benzene derivatives are subjected to this reduction, cyclohexa-1,4-dienes are formed. The 1,4-dienes obtained from the reduction isomerize to more useful 1,3-dienes under protic conditions. A number of syntheses of natural products have been devised where the Birch reduction of a benzenoid compound to a cyclohex-1,3-diene and converting this intermediate in Diels-Alder fasion to polycyclic products is involved (equation 186)308f h. 

TABLE 9. Electroreductive synthesis of dienes from benzenoid compounds... 

Pyridines are reduced more easily than the corresponding benzenoid compounds. The greater the electron-withdrawing power of the substituents attached to the pyridine ring the easier is reduction by nucleophilic reducing agents. 

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