Electrophilic substitution, aromatic intermediates, isolation

If we are correct in our assumption that the electrophilic substitution of aromatic species involves such a complexes as intermediates—and it has proved possible actually to isolate them in the course of some such substitutions (p. 136)—then what we commonly refer to as aromatic substitution really involves initial addition followed by subsequent elimination. How this basic theory is borne out in the common electrophilic substitution reactions of benzene will now be considered. 

Among dichloro bis-electrophiles, malonyl chloride with enamine 183b affords pyridone 189, probably resulting from C-alkylation and cyclocondensation followed by aromatization (02T2821). Finally, o-chloro-benzoylchloride leads to C-benzoylation and subsequent intramolecular substitution of the isolable intermediate to yield quinoline 190 (03ARK (is.2)146). 

Protonated polymethylbenzenes281 and the chlorohexamethylbenzenium cation,282 intermediates in aromatic electrophilic substitutions known as Wheland intermediates, have been isolated as crystalline salts, allowing investigators to obtain their X-ray crystal structure. Nitrosoarenium a complexes of various arenes were directly observed by transient absorption spectroscopy.283 Kochi presented a method combining appropriate instrumental techniques (X-ray crystallography, NMR, time-resolved UV-vis spectroscopy) for the observation, identification, and structural characterization of reactive intermediates fa and n complexes) in electrophilic aromatic substitution.284... 

We consider as dihydro derivatives those rings which contain either one or two 5p3-hybridized carbon atoms. According to this definition, all reactions of the aromatic compounds with electrophiles, nucleophiles or free radicals involve dihydro intermediates. Such reactions with electrophiles afford Wheland intermediates which usually easily lose H+ to re-aromatize. However, nucleophilic substitution (in the absence of a leaving group such as halogen) gives an intermediate which must lose H and such intermediates often possess considerable stability. Radical attack at ring carbon affords another radical which usually reacts further rapidly. In this section we consider the reactions of isolable dihydro compounds it is obvious that much of the discussion on the aromatic heterocycles is concerned with dihydro derivatives as intermediates. 

The presence of chelating groups in those complexes is necessary to stabilize the intermediate aryl-palladium complex for isolation but it does not seem necessary to cause palladation. The chelating group does, however, tremendously accelerate the palladation. Aromatic compounds reactive to electrophilic substitution apparently undergo palladation with palladium acetate in acetic acid solution fairly readily at 100 °C or above. Of course, the arylpalladium acetates presumably formed, are not stable under these conditions, and they decompose very rapidly into biaryls and palladium metal 34,35,36) ag do aryl palladium salts prepared by the exchange route 24>. If the direct palladation is carried out in the presence of suitable olefins, arylation can be achieved, so far, however, only in poor yields, arid with concurrent loss of stereospecificity and formation of isomers and other side products 37.38). 

Reaction of nucleophiles with the polarized N=C bond of azines proceeds via dearomatization and formation of the corresponding 1,2-adduct. With alkyllithiums, for example, it is possible to isolate the dihydro products by careful neutralization of the reaction mixtures these are, in general, rather unstable, however, and can easily be reoxidized to the fully aromatic compounds (Scheme 4). The dihydro adducts formed in these direct nucleophilic addition reactions can also be utilized for the introduction of substituent groups /3 to the heteroatom. Thus, reaction of (35) with one of a number of electrophiles, followed by oxidation of the intermediate dihydro product, constitutes a simple and, in many cases, effective method for the introduction of substituent groups at both the 2- and 5-positions of the pyridine ring (Scheme 4). Use of LAH in this sequence, of course, results in the formation of 3-substituted pyridines. 

The primary method of direct palladation begins with Pd and proceeds by either electrophilic aromatic substitution or oxidative addition of an arene C-H bond (equation 2) In both cases, loss of H-X leads to an aryl-Pd-X derivative. Simple arenes can undergo palladation, but lead to isomers in the absence of a strongly directing substituent. The process is usually done in a stepwise manner, with isolation of the aryl-Pd-X intermediate. It is not easily made catalytic various reoxidation recipes are used for conversion of Pd° to Pd in other applications, but none has been found satisfactory here. 

The mechanism of these substitution reactions can be readily rationalized in a manner which completely parallels the accepted electrophilic mechanism of benzene and other aromatic systems. The electrophile, R", adds to the cyclobutadiene ligand to produce the 7r-allyl-Fe(CO)3 cationic intermediate (XVI) loss of a proton from this intermediate generates the substituted cyclobutadiene -Fe(CO)3 complex. We have previously isolated salts of the 7r-allyl-iron tricarbonyl cation (XVII), as well... 

The remaining two steps proceed along very similar lines in most electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions. The attack by the electrophile is usually the rate limiting step. The cationic intermediate is called a Wheland intermediate, or o-complex or an arenium ion, and can sometimes be isolated. 

Alternatively, a mild and efficient one-pot electrophilic aromatic substitution/ oxidative cyclization without isolation of the intermediate complexes 36 has been achieved using air as oxidizing agent (mode B in Scheme 12). Thus, reaction via mode B leads to tricarbonyl(ri" -4a,9a-dihydrocarbazole)iron complexes 37, which on demetalation with trimethylamine A(-oxide and subsequent catalytic dehydrogenation provide the carbazoles 40. The naturally occurring carbazole... 

Functionalized benzenes preferentially induced ortho-para substitution with electron-donating groups and meta substitution with electron-withdrawing groups (see above). Additionally, the order of reactivity found with aromatics was similar to that of electrophilic aromatic substitution. These observations implicated an electrophihc metalation of the arene as the key step. Hence, Fujiwara et al. [4b] believed that a solvated arylpalladium species is formed from a homogeneous solution of an arene and a palladium(ll) salt in a polar solvent via an electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction (Figure 9.2). The alkene then coordinates to the unstable arylpalladium species, followed by an insertion into the aryl-palladium bond. The arylethyl-palladium intermediate then rapidly undergoes )8-hydride elimination to form the alkenylated arene and a palladium hydride species, which then presumably decomposes into an acid and free palladium metal. Later on, the formation of the arylpalladium species proposed in this mechanism was confirmed by the isolation of diphenyltripalladium(ll) complexes obtained by the C-H activation reaction of benzene with palladium acetate dialkylsulfide systems [19]. 

In the first stage, the aromatic molecule is attacked by the electrophile and a Ti-complex is formed, which retains the aromatic state. The Ti-complex is converted in a second reaction stage into the a-complex. The high stability, which the aromatic electron sextet gives to the hydrocarbons, is lost in this process. The a-com-plex is a reactive intermediate, which can be isolated through substitution with suitable electron donors. 

A simple example illustrates the reaction. When benzene reacts with benzyl chloride in the presence of 0.4 equivalents of AICI3, diphenylmethane (45) is isolated in 59% yield. If this reaction proceeds by electrophilic aromatic substitution, then the sp carbon of benzyl chloride is a precursor to a carbocation. To form a carbocation from benzyl chloride, the chlorine atom must react as a Lewis base with AICI3 to form PhCH2 AlCL. Benzene reacts with this carbocation via electrophilic aromatic substitution in the same manner as the reaction with Br in the previous section to form an arenium ion intermediate (see 40) to give 45. 

Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons such as naphthalene, anthracene, and phenanthrene undergo electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions in the same manner as benzene. A significant difference is that there are more carbon atoms, more potential sites for substitution, and more resonance structures to consider. In naphthalene, it is important to recognize that there are only two different positions Cl and C2 (see 122). This means that Cl, C4, C5, and C8 are chemically identical and that C2, C3, C6, and C7 are chemically identical. In other words, if substitution occurs at Cl, C4, C5, and C8 as labeled in 122, only one product is formed 1-chloronaphthalene (121), which is the actual product isolated from the chlorination reaction. Chlorination of naphthalene at Cl leads to the five resonance structures shown for arenium ion intermediate 127. 

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