Aromatics electron rich

Phenols are polar compounds but less polar than alcohols They resem ble arylammes m having an electron rich aromatic ring... 

Phenylalanine and tryptophan have side chains that incorporate aromatic rings which are large and hydrophobic The aromatic portion of tryptophan is bicyclic which makes it larger than phenylalanine Tryptophan also has a more electron rich aromatic ring and is more polarizable than phenylalanine Its role is more specialized and it is less abundant m proteins than most of the other ammo acids... 

Preformed Carbocationic Intermediates. Propargyl cations stabilized by hexacarbonyl dicobalt have been used to effect Friedel-Crafts alkylation of electron-rich aromatics, such as anisole, /V, /V- dim ethyl a n il in e and 1,2,4,-trimethoxybenzene (24). Intramolecular reactions have been found to be regio and stereo-selective, and have been used ia the preparatioa of derivatives of 9JT- uoreaes and dibenzofurans (25). 

Heavily fluonnated aminobenzenes, pyridines, and pyrimidines are diazotized in strong-acid media Solid sodium nitrite added directly to the fluonnated amine dissolved in 80% hydrofluonc acid, anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, or (1 1 wt/wt) 98% sulfuric acid in (86 14 wt/wt) acetic and propionic acids affords the electrophilic fluoroarenediazonium ion Addition of an electron rich aromatic to the resultant diazonium solution gives the fluoroareneazo compound [10 II] (equa tions 9 and 10)... 

Pyrrole, furan, and thiophene, on the other hand, have electron-rich aromatic rings and are extremely reactive toward electrophilic aromatic substitution— rnore like phenol and aniline than benzene. Like benzene they have six tt electrons, but these tt electrons are delocalized over five atoms, not six, and ar e not held as strongly as those of benzene. Even when the ring atom is as electronegative as oxygen, substitution takes place readily. 

Experimental observations indicate that electron-rich aromatic nucleophiles, such as phenoxide, add to phenyl diazonium ion in the same way as dimethylamine. 

Aryl diazanium ions, ArNa, react with electron-rich aromatic rings, Ar H, to give azo dyes , ArN=NAr. A dye s color depends on its electronic structure and may change with substituents and solvent polarity. 

The classical Vilsmeier-Haack reaction is one of the most useful general synthetic methods employed for the formylation of various electron rich aromatic, aliphatic and heteroaromatic substrates. However, the scope of the reaction is not restricted to aromatic formylation and the use of the Vilsmeier-Haack reagent provides a facile entry into a large number of heterocyclic systems. In 1978, the group of Meth-Cohn demonstrated a practically simple procedure in which acetanilide 3 (R = H) was efficiently converted into 2-chloro-3-quinolinecarboxaldehyde 4 (R = H) in 68% yield. This type of quinoline synthesis was termed the Vilsmeier Approach by Meth-Cohn. ... 

Condensation between aldehyde 40 and amine 29 followed by sodium borohydride reduction of the resultant imine and cyclisation yielded isoquinoline 41 in good yield. Cyclisation occurred exclusively at the more electron-rich aromatic group. 

Electron-rich aromatic substrates can react without a catalyst present. Modern variants of the Blanc reaction use chloromethyl ether" (e.g. (C1CH2)20, ClCH20Me) or methoxyacetyl chloride, since those reagents are more reactive and give higher yields. 

Coupling reaction of diazoniutn ions with electron-rich aromatic compounds... 

Arenediazonium ions 1 can undergo a coupling reaction with electron-rich aromatic compounds 2 like aryl amines and phenols to yield azo compounds 3. The substitution reaction at the aromatic system 2 usually takes place para to the activating group probably for steric reasons. If the para position is already occupied by a substituent, the new substitution takes place ortho to the activating group. 

The optimal pH-value for the coupling reaction depends on the reactant. Phenols are predominantly coupled in slightly alkaline solution, in order to first convert an otherwise unreactive phenol into the reactive phenoxide anion. The reaction mechanism can be formulated as electrophilic aromatic substitution taking place at the electron-rich aromatic substrate, with the arenediazonium ion being the electrophile ... 

Arenediazonium ions are relatively weak electrophiles, and therefore react only with electron-rich aromatic substrates like aryl amines and phenols. Aromatic compounds like anisole, mesitylene, acylated anilines or phenolic esters are ordinarily not reactive enough to be suitable substrates however they may be coupled... 

The applicability of the Gattermann synthesis is limited to electron-rich aromatic substrates, such as phenols and phenolic ethers. The introduction of the formyl group occurs preferentially para to the activating substituent (compare Friedel-Crafts acylation). If the /jara-position is already substituted, then the ort/zo-derivative will be formed. 

An analogous reaction is the Houben-Hoesch reaction,(sometimes called the Hoesch reaction) using nitriles 7 to give aryl ketones 8. This reaction also is catalyzed by Lewis acids often zinc chloride or aluminum chloride is used. The Houben-Hoesch reaction is limited to phenols—e.g. resorcinol 6—phenolic ethers and certain electron-rich aromatic heterocycles ... 

In order to achieve high yields, the reaction usually is conducted by application of high pressure. For laboratory use, the need for high-pressure equipment, together with the toxicity of carbon monoxide, makes that reaction less practicable. The scope of that reaction is limited to benzene, alkyl substituted and certain other electron-rich aromatic compounds. With mono-substituted benzenes, thepara-for-mylated product is formed preferentially. Super-acidic catalysts have been developed, for example generated from trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, hydrogen fluoride and boron trifluoride the application of elevated pressure is then not necessary. 

The reaction of electron-rich aromatic compounds with yV,A -dimethylformamide 2 and phosphorus oxychloride to yield an aromatic aldehyde—e.g. 3 from the substituted benzene 1—is called the Vilsmeier reaction or sometimes the Vilsmeier-Haack reaction. It belongs to a class of formylation reactions that are each of limited scope (see also Gattermann reaction). 

Although limited to electron-rich aromatic compounds and alkenes, the Vilsmeier reaction is an important formylation method. When yV,A-dimethylformamide is used in excess, the use of an additional solvent is not necessary. In other cases toluene, dichlorobenzene or a chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbon is used as solvent. ... 

The second part of lanosterol biosynthesis is catalyzed by oxidosqualene lanosterol cyclase and occurs as shown in Figure 27.14. Squalene is folded by the enzyme into a conformation that aligns the various double bonds for undergoing a cascade of successive intramolecular electrophilic additions, followed by a series of hydride and methyl migrations. Except for the initial epoxide protonation/cyclization, the process is probably stepwise and appears to involve discrete carbocation intermediates that are stabilized by electrostatic interactions with electron-rich aromatic amino acids in the enzyme. 

Step 3 of Figure 27.14 Third Cyclization The third cationic cyclization is somewhat unusual because it occurs with non-Markovnikov regiochemistry and gives a secondary cation at C13 rather than the alternative tertiary cation at C14. There is growing evidence, however, that the tertiary carbocation may in fact be formed initially and that the secondary cation arises by subsequent rearrangement. The secondary cation is probably stabilized in the enzyme pocket by the proximity of an electron-rich aromatic ring. 

Benzaldehyde was also treated with a range of tosylhydrazone salts (Table 1.5). Good selectivities were generally observed with electron-rich aromatic salts (Entries 1-3), except in the furyl case (Entry 7). Low yields of epoxide occurred when a hindered substrate such as the mesityl tosylhydrazone salt was used. 

Taking into account the close relationship to pyridines one would expect 2-pyridones to express similar type of reactivities, but in fact they are quite different. 2-Pyridones are much less basic than pyridines (pKa 0.8 and 5.2, respectively) and have more in common with electron-rich aromatics. They undergo halogenations (a. Scheme 10) [67] and other electrophilic reactions like Vilsmeier formylation (b. Scheme 10) [68,69] and Mannich reactions quite easily [70,71], with the 3 and 5 positions being favored. N-unsubstituted 2-pyridones are acidic and can be deprotonated (pJCa 11) and alkylated at nitrogen as well as oxygen, depending on the electrophile and the reaction conditions [24-26], and they have also been shown to react in Mitsonobu reactions (c. Scheme 10) [27]. 

Heme-dependent haloperoxidases generate HOX as reactive species from H2O2 and X, which represents an X+ equivalent capable of undergoing electrophilic addition at electron-rich centers [270,271]. Aprototype biocatalyst of this group is the chloroperoxidase from Caldariomyces Jumago [272]. In many natural systems, such enzymes are responsible for the halogenation of electron-rich aromatic cores. 

Similarly, Dakka and Sasson (ref. 26) showed that benzylic alcohols could be selectively oxidized to the corresponding aromatic aldehydes using HBr/H202 as the oxidant (Fig. 23). The reaction was not successful with electron-rich aromatics which underwent competing nuclear bromination. 

Many known color reactions involve electrophilic substitution at an electron-rich aromatic or heteroaromatic (cf. 4-(dimethylamino)-benzaldehyde - acid reagents and vanillin reagents ). Here aliphatic or aromatic aldehydes react in acid medium to yield polymethyne cations which are intensely colored di- or triarylcarbenium ions [4, 10]. 

Primary alcohols can be selectively detected using reagent sequences involving an initial oxidation to yield aldehydes that are then reacted in acid medium with electron-rich aromatics or heteroaromatics, according to the above scheme, to yield intensely colored triphenylmethane dyes. 

Halterman et al. reported that 5-aryl-5-phenylcyclopentadienes 23-25 reacted with dienophiles to favor the reactions on the anti side of the more electron rich aromatic system [19]. The orbital mixing rule failed to predict this selectivity, since orbital mixing is expected to take place mainly by mediation of the JtAr-HOMo of more electron rich aromatic system (Scheme 13). Destabilization due to the orbital phase environment or stabilization due to Cieplak effects can be responsible for the selectivity (See Sects. 2.1.2 and 2.1.3). 

Halterman et al. agreed with this proposal to show the selectivity of 5-aryl-5-phenylcyclopentadiene favoring the reactions on the anti side of a more electron rich aromatic system with significant correlation between the Hammet constants for the aromatic substituents and the facial selectivity [19] (Scheme 29). 

As mentioned above, ferrocene is amenable to electrophilic substitution reactions and acts like a typical activated electron-rich aromatic system such as anisole, with the limitation that the electrophile must not be a strong oxidizing agent, which would lead to the formation of ferrocenium cations instead. Formation of the CT-complex intermediate 2 usually occurs by exo-attack of the electrophile (from the direction remote to the Fe center. Fig. 3) [14], but in certain cases can also proceed by precoordination of the electrophile to the Fe center (endo attack) [15]. 

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