Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction mechanism

Figure 16.9 Mechanism of the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction. The electrophile is a resonance-stabilized acyl cation, whose electrostatic potential map indicates that carbon is the most positive atom (blue).

The heat of decomposition (238.4 kJ/mol, 3.92 kJ/g) has been calculated to give an adiabatic product temperature of 2150°C accompanied by a 24-fold pressure increase in a closed vessel [9], Dining research into the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction of aromatic compounds (components unspecified) in nitrobenzene as solvent, it was decided to use nitromethane in place of nitrobenzene because of the lower toxicity of the former. However, because of the lower boiling point of nitromethane (101°C, against 210°C for nitrobenzene), the reactions were run in an autoclave so that the same maximum reaction temperature of 155°C could be used, but at a maximum pressure of 10 bar. The reaction mixture was heated to 150°C and maintained there for 10 minutes, when a rapidly accelerating increase in temperature was noticed, and at 160°C the lid of the autoclave was blown off as decomposition accelerated to explosion [10], Impurities present in the commercial solvent are listed, and a recommended purification procedure is described [11]. The thermal decomposition of nitromethane under supercritical conditions has been studied [12], The effects of very high pressure and of temperature on the physical properties, chemical reactivity and thermal decomposition of nitromethane have been studied, and a mechanism for the bimolecular decomposition (to ammonium formate and water) identified [13], Solid nitromethane apparently has different susceptibility to detonation according to the orientation of the crystal, a theoretical model is advanced [14], Nitromethane actually finds employment as an explosive [15],... 

The mechanism of the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction, formulated below for reactions using acid chlorides, probably involves the acylium ion (2) as the reactive electrophilic species, although an electrophilic complex (1) between the acid chloride and aluminium chloride may also be involved. 

Please note that while the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction is presented in discussions of addition-elimination reaction mechanisms, this reaction is actually an electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction. The correct mechanisms for a Freidel-Crafts acylation was presented in the solution for Problem 6 (h) from Chapter 7. 

Show the mechanism for the generation of the acylium ion if an acid anhydride is used instead of an acyl chloride in a Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction. 

The Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction can be performed without any catalyst, but very harsh conditions are necessary [5], Conventionally, and more efficiently, this electrophilic acylation using acyl chlorides or anhydrides is catalyzed by Lewis acids (such as ZnClj, AlClj, FeCl, SnCl, and TiCl ) when carboxylic acids are directly utilized as acylating reagents, strong protic acid catalysts (such as HjSO and HF) are needed. The simplified mechanism of the reaction involving an acyl chloride and AlClj is depicted in Scheme 3.1. 

SCHEME 3.1 AlClj-promoted mechanism of the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction. 

In contrast to the aromatic counterpart, very few works have been devoted to the mechanism of the aliphatic Friedel-Crafts acylation. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the reaction of 1-methylcyclohexene in acetic acid with zinc chloride catalyst that exclusively gives the 6-acetyl-l-methylcyclohexene. Early discussions by Deno suggest a carbo-cation intermediate. Finally, the observations by Beak of a product isotope effect in the absence of a corresponding kinetic isotope effect in the series of deuterated cyclenes is compelling evidence for a reaction intermediate, such as carbocation species. In the meantime, H.M.R. Hoffmann observed that the acylation of various olefins with acetyl hexachloroantimonate in methylene chloride in the presence of hindered amines affords 8,T-unsaturated ketones. He suggested that the non-conjugated enone is formed via an ene reaction. 

The large scale preparation of the drug candidate 2 was accomplished via the Sugasawa reaction (an ortho-selective Friedel-Craft acylation on anilines) and the asymmetric addition to ketimines. Understanding the reaction mechanism and reaction parameters is the only way to gain confidence that the reactions will perform as required upon scale up. Below we discuss both subjects in detail. 

In 1978, Sugasawa et al., at Shionogi Pharmaceutical Co. reported ortho-selective Friedel-Craft acylation with free anilines with nitrile derivatives [4]. Sugasawa reported that the reaction requires two different Lewis acids (BC13 and A1C13) and does not proceed when N,N-dialkyl anilines are used. He proposed that boron bridging between nitriles and anilines led to exclusive ortho-acylation but a conclusive mechanism was not elucidated. The report did not offer any reason why two different Lewis acids were required and why the reaction did not progress with N,N-dialkyl anilines. Therefore, we initiated mechanistic studies. 

In-situ IR-spectroscopic characterization of the Friedel-Crafts acylation of benzene in ionic liquids derived from AICI3 and FeCl3 showed that the mechanism of the reaction in ionic liquids was the same as that in 1,2-dichloroethane (128). The immobilization of ferric chloride-containing ionic liquid onto solid supports (e.g., silica and carbon) however failed to catalyze the acylation reaction, because leaching was a serious problem. When the reaction was carried out with gas-phase reactants, catalyst deactivation was observed. 

---