Benzylic halogenation, radical

Bromo- and chloro-iodinanes (29 and 31) behave as free radical halogenating agents (79JA3060). They give photoinitiated benzylic halogenation of toluene or allylic halogenation of cyclohexene in high yield. Cyclic 10-C1-3 and 10-F-3 species have not yet been reported. 

Non-activated methyl groups are never attacked in these reactions toluene can be functionalized but isolation of the resulting benzyl halides from these PTC mixtures is difficult. Most remarkable is that strained hydrocarbons such as cubane (5) or 2,4-didehydroadamantane (6) can also be halogenated with conservation of the cage [27], in marked contrast with the halogenation reactions of these substrates with halogen radicals [40]. Dihalogenations with either the same or a differ-... 

A halogen radical abstracts a benzylic hydrogen atom, forming a benzylic radical and a molecule of the hydrogen halide. 

The benzylic radical reacts with a halogen molecule to form the benzylic halide product and a halogen radical that propagates the chain. 

The relative stability of benzylic carbocations, radicals, and carbanions makes it possible to manipulate the side chains of aromatic rings. Functionalization at the benzylic position, for example, is readily accomplished by free-radical halogenation and provides access to the usual reactions (substitution, elimination) that we associate with alkyl halides. 

Radical Allylic and Benzylic Halogenation (WoHL-ZlEGLER BrOMINATION)... 

Benzylic halogenation is carried out in the absence of Lewis acids and under conditions that favor the formation of radicals. 

What explains the ease of benzylic halogenation The answer lies in the stabilization of the phenyhnethyl (benzyl) radical by the phenomenon called benzylic resonance (Figure 22-1). As a consequence, the benzylic C-H bond is relatively weak (DH° = 87 kcal moF, 364 kJ moF ) its cleavage is relatively favorable and proceeds with a low activation energy. 

The catalysis by Yb(OTf)3-Me3SiCl is quite useful for allylic halogenation of 1,1-disubstituted alkenes with NBS, NCS and NIS [157]. In contrast to the conventional method using a radical initiator, this method does not cause benzylic halogenation. Thus, the reaction of l-isopropenyl-2-methylbenzene with NBS and NCS gives allyl halides in good yield without benzylic halogenation (Scheme 9.66). 

The comparative ease with which a benzylic hydrogen is abstracted leads to high selectivity m free radical halogenations of alkylbenzenes Thus chlorination of toluene... 

Sections Free radical halogenation and oxidation involve reactions at the benzylic 11 12-11 13 carbon See Table 112... 

Halogenation (Section 11 12) Free radical halo genation of alkylbenzenes is highly selective for substitution at the benzylic position In the exam pie shown elemental bromine was used Alterna Lively N bromosuccinimide is a convenient re agent for benzylic bromination... 

Important differences are seen when the reactions of the other halogens are compared to bromination. In the case of chlorination, although the same chain mechanism is operative as for bromination, there is a key difference in the greatly diminished selectivity of the chlorination. For example, the pri sec selectivity in 2,3-dimethylbutane for chlorination is 1 3.6 in typical solvents. Because of the greater reactivity of the chlorine atom, abstractions of primary, secondary, and tertiary hydrogens are all exothermic. As a result of this exothermicity, the stability of the product radical has less influence on the activation energy. In terms of Hammond s postulate (Section 4.4.2), the transition state would be expected to be more reactant-like. As an example of the low selectivity, ethylbenzene is chlorinated at both the methyl and the methylene positions, despite the much greater stability of the benzyl radical ... 

Some radicals (e.g., tert-butyl, benzyl, and cyclopropyl), are nucleophilic (they tend to abstract electron-poor hydrogen atoms). The phenyl radical appears to have a very small degree of nucleophilic character. " For longer chains, the field effect continues, and the P position is also deactivated to attack by halogen, though much less so than the a position. We have already mentioned (p. 896) that abstraction of an a hydrogen atom from ring-substituted toluenes can be correlated by the Hammett equation. 

The electrochemical oxidation of amines to imines and nitriles typically utilize a chemical mediator. The use of both Al-oxyl radicals [12, 13] and halogens has been reported for this process [14]. For example, the conversion of benzyl amine (14a) into nitrile (15a) and aldehyde (16a) has been accomplished using the M-oxyl radical of a decahydroquinoline ring skeleton as the mediator (Scheme 5). The use of acetonitrile as the solvent for the reaction generated the nitrile product. The addition of water to the reaction stopped this process by hydrolyzing the imine generated. A high yield of the aldehyde was obtained. In the case of a secondary amine, the aqueous... 

The possibility that substitution results from halogen-atom transfer to the nucleophile, thus generating an alkyl radical that could then couple with its reduced or oxidized form, has been mentioned earlier in the reaction of iron(i) and iron(o) porphyrins with aliphatic halides. This mechanism has been extensively investigated in two cases, namely the oxidative addition of various aliphatic and benzylic halides to cobalt(n) and chromiumfn) complexes. 

Benzyl chloride undergoes further chlorination to give di- and tri-chloro derivatives, though it is possible to control the extent of chlorination by restricting the amount of chlorine used. As indicated above, it is easier to mono-brominate than it is to mono-chlorinate. The particular stabilization conferred on the benzylic radical by resonance is underlined by the reaction of ethylbenzene with halogens. 

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