Electrophilic addition reactions Friedel-Crafts alkylation

Many variations of the reaction can be carried out, including halogenation, nitration, and sulfonation. Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation reactions, which involve reaction of an aromatic ling with carbocation electrophiles, are particularly useful. They are limited, however, by the fact that the aromatic ring must be at least as reactive as a halobenzene. In addition, polyalkylation and carbocation rearrangements often occur in Friedel-Crafts alkylation. 

Carbocations also feature as intermediates in electrophilic addition reactions (see Section 8.1) and in Friedel-Crafts alkylations (see Section 8.4.1). 

Two years after the discovery of the first asymmetric Br0nsted acid-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts alkylation, the You group extended this transformation to the use of indoles as heteroaromatic nucleophiles (Scheme 11). iV-Sulfonylated aldimines 28 are activated with the help of catalytic amounts of BINOL phosphate (5)-3k (10 mol%, R = 1-naphthyl) for the reaction with unprotected indoles 29 to provide 3-indolyl amines 30 in good yields (56-94%) together with excellent enantioselec-tivities (58 to >99% ee) [21], Antilla and coworkers demonstrated that A-benzoyl-protected aldimines can be employed as electrophiles for the addition of iV-benzylated indoles with similar efficiencies [22]. Both protocols tolerate several aryl imines and a variety of substituents at the indole moiety. In addition, one example of the use of an aliphatic imine (56%, 58% ee) was presented. 

C-Alkylations have been performed with both support-bound carbon nucleophiles and support-bound carbon electrophiles. Benzyl, allyl, and aryl halides or triflates have generally been used as the carbon electrophiles. Suitable carbon nucleophiles are boranes, organozinc and organomagnesium compounds. C-Alkylations have also been accomplished by the addition of radicals to alkenes. Polystyrene can also be alkylated under harsh conditions, e.g. by Friedel-Crafts alkylation [11-16] in the presence of strong acids. This type of reaction is incompatible with most linkers and is generally only suitable for the preparation of functionalized supports. Few examples have been reported of the preparation of alkanes by C-C bond formation on solid phase, and general methodologies for such preparations are still scarce. 

An alkyl group can be added to a benzene molecule by an electrophile aromatic substitution reaction called the Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction. One example is the addition of a methyl group to a benzene ring. 

Uraguchi D, Sorimachi K, Terada M (2004) Organocatalytic asymmetric aza-Friedel-Crafts alkylation of furan. J Am Chem Soc 126 11804-11805 Uraguchi D, Terada M (2004) Chiral Brpnsted acid-catalyzed direct Mannich reactions via electrophilic activation. J Am Chem Soc 126 5356-5357 Vachal P, Jacobsen EN (2000) Enantioselective catalytic addition of HCN to ketoimines. Catalytic synthesis of quaternary amino acids. Org Lett 2 867-870... 

Pertinent examples of zeolite-catalyzed reactions in organic synthesis include Friedel-Crafts alkylations and acylations and other electrophilic aromatic substitutions, additions and eliminations, cyclizations, rearrangements and isomeriza-tions, and condensations. 

The first step of the Friedel-Crafts alkylation is the coordination of the Lewis acid to the alkylating agent (e.g., alkyl halide) to give a polar addition complex. The extent of polarization in this complex depends on the branching of the alkyl group and almost total dissociation is observed in the case of tertiary and benzylic compounds. The rate determining step is the formation of the -complex by the reaction of the initial complex (electrophile) and the aromatic ring this step disrupts the aromaticity of the substrate. In the last step of the mechanism a proton is lost and the aromaticity is reestablished. 

Benzene s aromaticity causes it to undergo electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions. The electrophilic addition reactions characteristic of alkenes and dienes would lead to much less stable nonaromatic addition products. The most common electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions are halogenation, nitration, sulfonation, and Friedel-Crafts acylation and alkylation. Once the electrophile is generated, all electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions take place by the same two-step mechanism (1) The aromatic compound reacts with an electrophile, forming a carbocation intermediate and (2) a base pulls off a proton from the carbon that... 

Although a mechanism involving a radical cation has been proposed for the Scholl reaction, as indicated by the paramagnetic properties of many polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) when they are treated with Lewis acids or concentrated sulfuric acid, it is assumed that the Scholl reaction occurs in a manner similar to the Friedel-Crafts Alkylation, involving an arenium cation instead of a radical cation. In detail, the Scholl reaction of hexaphenylbenzene involves the complexation between a Lewis acid and aromatic nucleus, electrophilic addition, and deprotonation,as illustrated here. In the presence of NaCl or HCl, chloride is beneficial for the elimination of aryl hydrogen by the formation of hydrogen chloride, as indicated by the bold chloride. 

From a mechanistic viewpoint, asymmetric Friedel-Crafts alkylation (AFCA) reactions are similar to the historical version, with the chiral additives responsible for triggering and controUing the overall aromatic C—H replacement. Interestingly, covalent (organocatalysis) or noncovalent (metal catalysis) interactions can take place between catalysts and electrophiles during the enantiodis-criminating step of the reaction course (Fig. 5.1). 

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