Benzo pyrroles

The main methods of synthesis and the mechanisms of the reactions involved, particularly those for benzo[/>]pyrrole... 

These compounds are less common than indole (benzo[ ]pyrrole). In the case of benzo[i>]furan the aromaticity of the heterocycle is weaker than in indole, and this ring is easily cleaved by reduction or oxidation. Electrophilic reagents tend to react with benzo[Z ]furan at C-2 in preference to C-3 (Scheme 7.21), reflecting the reduced ability of the heteroatom to stabilize the intermediate for 3-substitution. Attack in the heterocycle is often accompanied by substitution in the benzenoid ring. Nitration with nitric acid in acetic acid gives mainly 2-nitrobenzo[Z ]furan, plus the 4-, 6- and 7-isomers. When the reagent is in benzene maintained at 10 °C, both 3- and 2-nitro[ ]furans are formed in the ratio 4 1. Under Vilsmeier reaction conditions (see Section 6.1.2), benzo[Z ]furan gives 2-formylbenzo[6]furan in ca. 40% yield. 

Indole is a heteroaromatic compound consisting of a fused benzene and pyrrole ring, specifically benzo [ pyrrole. The systematic name, lff-indole (1) distinguishes it from the less stable tautomer 3ff-indole [271-26-1] (2). Iff- Indole [120-72-9] is also more stable than the isomeric benzo[c] pyrrole, which is called isoindole, (2ff, (3) and Iff (4)). A third isomer benzo[i ]pyrrole is a stable compound called indolizidine [274-40-8] (5). 

According to both the computed magnetic susceptibility anisotropies and relative energies, the benzo[. ]thiophenes lie between the benzo[ ]pyrroles and benzo[. ]furans the benzo[r]thiophene should be more stable than the benzo[r]furan benzo[ ]thiophene should be the more stable isomer. 

Introduction of substituents on the carbocyclic ring relies primarily on electrophilic substitution and on organometallic reactions. The former reactions are not under strong regiochcmical control. The nitrogen atom can stabilize any of the C-nng o-complexes and both pyrrole and benzo ring substituents can influence the substitution pattern, so that the position of substitution tends to be dependent on the specific substitution pattern (Scheme 14.1). 

The much less sophisticated PPP approximation has been shown to well reproduce the electronic spectral features not only of the monocyclic furan, pyrrole, thiophene, selenophene and tellurophene but also many of the benzo fused derivatives as well (79MI30101, 68JPC3975, 68MI30100). 

In summary, all estimates of resonance energies indicate a decrease in aromaticity in the sequence benzene > thiophene > pyrrole > furan. Similar sequences are also found for the benzo[6] and dibenzo analogues. A somewhat different sequence is found for the benzo[c] fused heterocycles with isoindole > benzo[c]thiophene > benzo[c]furan. As would be anticipated, the resonance energies for the benzo[c] heterocycles are substantially lower than those for their benzo[6] isomers. 

The major internal comparisons to be made within this chapter are between (13) pyrrole (1), furan (2), thiophene (3), selenophene (4) and tellurophene (5) b) pyrrole (1) and indole (6) (c) indole (6), benzo[6 Jfuran (7) and benzo[6]thiophene (8) d) indole (6), isoindole (9) and indolizine (10) and (e) benzo[6] and benzo[c] fused systems. The names of relevant heterocyclic radicals are given with the structures of the parent heterocycle. 

Indole Benzo[6]pyrrole B-70MI30200,72HC(25-1), 72HC(25-2), 79HC(25-3), B-79MI30203... 

It is of interest to compare the stability of the protonated forms of benzo[u], benzo[Z>] and benzo[c] fused pyrroles, i.e. the cations derived from indolizines, indoles and isoindoles. Indolizine gives a stable pyridinium ion and does not polymerize in the presence of acid. 

Indole is sulfonated under similar conditions to pyrrole though in this case the 3-sulfonic acid is formed. Benzo[Z>]thiophene is also sulfonated in the 3-position (71AHC(13)235). 

Benzo[Z)]furans and indoles do not take part in Diels-Alder reactions but 2-vinyl-benzo[Z)]furan and 2- and 3-vinylindoles give adducts involving the exocyclic double bond. In contrast, the benzo[c]-fused heterocycles function as highly reactive dienes in [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions. Thus benzo[c]furan, isoindole (benzo[c]pyrrole) and benzo[c]thiophene all yield Diels-Alder adducts (137) with maleic anhydride. Adducts of this type are used to characterize these unstable molecules and in a similar way benzo[c]selenophene, which polymerizes on attempted isolation, was characterized by formation of an adduct with tetracyanoethylene (76JA867). 

There are reports of an increasing number of palladium-assisted reactions, in some of which the palladium has a catalytic function. Thus furan and thiophene undergo facile palladium-assisted alkenylation giving 2-substituted products. Benzo[6 Jfuran and TV- acetyl-indole yield cyclization products, dibenzofurans and carbazoles respectively, in addition to alkenylated products (8UOC851). The arylation of pyrroles can be effected by treatment with palladium acetate and an arene (Scheme 86) (81CC254). 

VIII. Other Substituted Furaus, Thiopheues, Pyrroles, and Their Benzo Derivatives... 

Pyrrole and its benzo derivatives 97PHC97, 98PHC109, 99PHC124. 

In attempting to extend the method to other activated aromatics, it was found that pyrroles give mixtures of 2- and 3-substituted products, and that naphthol ethers and benzo[6]thiophene fail to react. 

Other derivatives of pyrrole that are of interest as coupling components are indole (12.39) and substituted indoles. Indole may be considered as a pyrrole with a benzo ring fused to it, or as a cyclized derivative of an 7V-monosubstituted aniline. For an aniline compound one expects either a C-coupling in the 5-position or an TV-cou-... 

By introducing reasonable values (about 2 for nitrogen, 4 for oxygen) for the electron affinity parameter relative to carbon, 8, and for the induced electron affinity for adjacent atoms (32/8i = Vio), we have shown that the calculated permanent charge distributions for pyridine, toluene, phenyltrimethylammonium ion, nitrobenzene, benzoic acid, benzaldehyde, acetophenone, benzo-nitrile, furan, thiophene, pyrrole, aniline, and phenol can be satisfactorily correlated qualitatively with the observed positions and rates of substitution. For naphthalene and the halogen benzenes this calculation does not lead to results... 

Whereas the degradation of the carboxylates of the monocyclic furan, thiophene, and pyrrole is initiated by hydroxylation, degradation of their benzo analogs is generally carried out by dioxygenation. The degradation of the analogs dibenzofuran and dibenzo-[l,4]-dioxin is discussed in Part 2 of this chapter. 

Five-membered ring systems pyrroles and benzo analogs... 

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