4,6-Dinitrobenzofuroxan reaction with nucleophiles

Dinitrobenzofuroxan (DNBF) is known as a superelectrophile due to its high reactivity both as an electrophile and in its pericyclic addition reactions. NMR studies show that reaction with 2-aminothiazole and its 4-methyl derivative yield anionic carbon-bonded adducts such as (11) by reaction at the 5-position, whereas the 4,5-dimethyl derivative reacts via the exocyclic amino group. Kinetic studies of the first two compounds, both in acetonitrile and in 70 30 (v/v) water-DMSO, have been used to assess their carbon nucleophilicities and place them on the Mayr nucleophilicity scale.55 In a related study, the nucleophilic reactivity, in acetonitrile, of a series of indoles with both DNBF and with benzhydryl cations have been compared and used to determine nucleophilicity parameters for the indoles.56... 

Dinitrobenzofuroxan (160) is such a powerfully activated substrate toward nucleophiles that it can react with unionized water in the appropriate pH range. A complete quantitative investigation of the reactions occuring in aqueous solution was carried out by Terrier et al.221,222 through the changes in absorbance at 465 nm between pH 1 and 13. The measurements of the reaction rates required the use of the stopped-flow technique. 

This study reports on the reactions of ambident nucleophiles with electron-deficient nitroaromatic and heteroaromatic substrates anionic complex formation or nucleophilic substitution result. Ambident behavior is observed in the case of phenoxide ion (O versus C attack) and aniline (N versus C attack). O or N attack is generally kinetically preferred, but C attack gives rise to stable thermodynamic control. Normal electrophiles such as 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene or picryl chloride are contrasted with superelectrophiles such as 4,6-dinitrobenzofuroxan or 4,6-dinitro-2-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)benzotriazole 1-oxide (PiDNBT), which give rise to exceptionally stable a complexes. Further interesting information was derived from the presence in PiDNBT of two electrophilic centers (C-7 and C-l ) susceptible to attack by the ambident nucleophilic reagent. The superelectrophiles are found to exhibit lesser selectivity toward different nucleophilic centers of ambident nucleophiles compared with normal electrophiles. 

The SNAr reactions of heteroarenes can be realized in a similar manner, as in the series of arenes [71, 82]. These nucleophilic reactions are analogous to electrochemical Sn transformations of arenes [22, 24, 25]. Terrier and co-workers considered an opportunity for electrochemical methoxylation of 4,6-dinitrobenzofuroxan by action of the methoxide ion via the SnAt mechanism [21]. The intermediate o -complex formed was oxidized successfully into the corresponding substitution product. Analogously, the formation of heteroaromatic amines has been suggested to occur via intermediacy of the corresponding amino adducts, as exemplified by the oxidation of the o -complex derived fi om the reaction of pyrimidine with NH2 (Scheme 26) [3, 102-104]. 

There is continued interest in the super-electrophile4,6-dinitrobenzofuroxan (DNBF). Reaction in DMSO with aniline, which may show ambident nucleophilic character, initially yields the nitrogen-bound adduct (18) and then, more slowly, the carbon-bound adduct (19) in which the DNBF has effected electrophiUc substitution of hydrogen. 

The high electrophilicities of 4,6-dinitrobenzofuroxan (DNBF) and 4,6-dinitrotetrazo-lopyridine place them in the superelectrophile category. Their reactions in acetonitrile with 2,4-dipyrrolidin-l-yl-l,3-thiazole, a strong nucleophile, allow the isolation of zwitterionic Meisenheimer-Wheland complexes, which are stable enough for X-ray... 

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