Electrophilic aromatic substitution examples

The reaction exhibits other characteristics typical of an electrophilic aromatic substitution. Examples of electrophiles that can effect substitution for silicon include protons and the halogens, as well as acyl, nitro, and sulfonyl groups. The feet that these reactions occur very rapidly has made them attractive for situations where substitution must be done under very mild conditions. ... 

Hydro-de-diazoniation seems to be an unnecessary reaction from the synthetic standpoint, as arenediazonium salts are obtained from the respective amines, reagents that are normally synthesized from the hydrocarbon. Some aromatic compounds, however, cannot be synthesized by straightforward electrophilic aromatic substitution examples of these are the 1,3,5-trichloro- and -tribromobenzenes (see below). These simple benzene derivatives are synthesized from aniline via halogenation, diazotization and hydro-de-diazoniation. Furthermore hydro-de-diazoniation is useful for the introduction of a hydrogen isotope in specific positions. 

In a proton transfer to an aromatic carbon atom, a so-called sigma complex is formed in which the configuration of the valence electrons of the carbon has been changed from sp2 to sp3. In the next step, the other electrophilic atom or group bonded to the same carbon may be split off. This leads to an electrophilic aromatic substitution. Examples are aromatic hydrogen isotope exchange, aromatic decarboxylation, deboro-nation, and deiodination (see Sect. 9 Chap. 2, and Vol. 13, Chap. 1). 

Figure 10.8 Problem space for electrophilic aromatic substitution example 10.5.4.

Figure 10.9 Electrophilic aromatic substitution example overview.

The nitration, sulphonation and Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatic compounds (e.g. benzene) are typical examples of electrophilic aromatic substitution. 

The selectivity relationship merely expresses the proportionality between intermolecular and intramolecular selectivities in electrophilic substitution, and it is not surprising that these quantities should be related. There are examples of related reactions in which connections between selectivity and reactivity have been demonstrated. For example, the ratio of the rates of reaction with the azide anion and water of the triphenylmethyl, diphenylmethyl and tert-butyl carbonium ions were 2-8x10 , 2-4x10 and 3-9 respectively the selectivities of the ions decrease as the reactivities increase. The existence, under very restricted and closely related conditions, of a relationship between reactivity and selectivity in the reactions mentioned above, does not permit the assumption that a similar relationship holds over the wide range of different electrophilic aromatic substitutions. In these substitution reactions a difficulty arises in defining the concept of reactivity it is not sufficient to assume that the reactivity of an electrophile is related... 

The scope of electrophilic aromatic substitution is quite large both the aromatic com pound and the electrophilic reagent are capable of wide variation Indeed it is this breadth of scope that makes electrophilic aromatic substitution so important Elec trophilic aromatic substitution is the method by which substituted derivatives of benzene are prepared We can gam a feeling for these reactions by examining a few typical exam pies m which benzene is the substrate These examples are listed m Table 12 1 and each will be discussed m more detail m Sections 12 3 through 12 7 First however let us look at the general mechanism of electrophilic aromatic substitution... 

Returning to Table 12 2 notice that halogen substituents direct an incoming electrophile to the ortho and para positions but deactivate the ring toward substitution Nitration of chlorobenzene is a typical example of electrophilic aromatic substitution m a halobenzene... 

Problems 12 2 12 3 and 12 7 offer additional examples of reactions in which only a sin gle product of electrophilic aromatic substitution is possible... 

Sometimes the orientation of two substituents m an aromatic compound precludes Its straightforward synthesis m Chloroethylbenzene for example has two ortho para directing groups m a meta relationship and so can t be prepared either from chloroben zene or ethylbenzene In cases such as this we couple electrophilic aromatic substitution with functional group manipulation to produce the desired compound... 

Section 12 1 On reaction with electrophilic reagents compounds that contain a ben zene ring undergo electrophilic aromatic substitution Table 12 1 m Section 12 1 and Table 12 3 m this summary give examples... 

The hydroxyl group of a phenol is a strongly activating substituent and electrophilic aromatic substitution occurs readily m phenol and its deriv atives Typical examples were presented m Table 24 4... 

Halogenation (Sections 4.14 and 12.5) Replacement of a hydrogen by a halogen. The most frequently encountered examples are the free-radical halogenation of alkanes and the halogenation of arenes by electrophilic aromatic substitution. 

Anticipating the products of electrophilic aromatic substitution can be more difficult when two or more substituents compete for control. For example, both methyl and methoxy groups are ortho para directors, and compete for control in electrophilic substitution of 2-methylanisole. The reaction product depends on which substituent has the stronger directing influence. 

Detailed mechanistic studies by Fodor demonstrated the intermediacy of both imidoyl chlorides (6) and nitrilium salts (7) in Bischler-Napieralski reactions promoted by a variety of reagents such as PCI5, POCI3, and SOCh)/ For example, amide 1 reacts with POCI3 to afford imidoyl chloride 6. Upon heating, intermediate 6 is converted to nitrilium salt 7, which undergoes intramolecular electrophilic aromatic substitution to afford the dihydroisoquinoline 2. Fodor s studies showed that the imidoyl chloride and nitrilium salt intermediates could be generated under mild conditions and characterized spectroscopically. Fodor also found that the cyclization of the imidoyl chlorides is accelerated by the addition of Lewis acids (SnCU, ZnCh), which provides further evidence to support the intermediacy of nitrilium salts. ... 

With a substituted aromatic ring compound 2, mixtures of isomeric coupling products may be formed the ort/zo-product usually predominates. The rules for regiochemical preferences as known from electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions (see for example Friedel-Crafts acylation), do not apply here. 

The mechanistic spectrum shed new light on a familiar textbook example of organic reactions, i.e., electrophilic aromatic substitution (Scheme 9). 

Displacements such as this show all the usual characteristics of electrophilic aromatic substitution (substituent effects, etc., see below), but they are normally of much less preparative significance than the examples we have already considered. In face of all the foregoing discussion of polar intermediates it is pertinent to point out that homolytic aromatic substitution reactions, i.e. by radicals, are also known (p. 331) as too is attack by nucleophiles (p. 167). 

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