Friedel-Crafts, mechanism

Bis-arene iron dications [20] are easily accessible from arenes, A1C13 and FeCl3 (for C6Me6, FeCl2 must be used). It is advisable to use tris-sublimated A1C13 to avoid problems of isomerization [23], With toluene, this isomerization due to the re/ro-Friedel-Crafts mechanism [24] is too extensive to give any clean complex. 

When treated with acid chlorides and acid anhydrides, phenols form esters. Under Friedel-Crafts conditions, phenolic esters undergo a Fries rearrangement in which the acyl group migrates to the 2- and 4-positions. Thus, treatment of the ester 11 with aluminium chloride in an inert solvent gives a mixture of 2- and 4-hydroxyacetophenones [(hydroxy-phenyl)ethanones] C-acylation has occurred (Scheme 4.7). The two isomers are separable and this is a useful method for the production of phenolic ketones. The mechanism remains uncertain, but it would appear that the acylium ion (RCO" ) is generated and that a Friedel-Crafts mechanism operates. 

Metal-catalyzed hydroarylation of alkynes catalyzed by electrophilic transition metal complexes has received much attention as a valuable synthetic alternative to the Heck and cross-coupling processes for the synthesis of alkenyl arenes (384). Metal trifluoromethanesulfonates (metal triflates) [M(OTQn M = Sc, Zr, In] catalyze the hydroarylation of alkynes via 71 complexation to give 1,1-diarylalkenes in very good yields (Scheme 32) (385). The reaction likely proceeds by a Friedel-Crafts mechanism via the alkenyl cation intermediate where the aryl starting material also serves as the solvent. 

Alternatively, a Friedel-Crafts mechanism has been proposed to account for bond formation via the Mukaiyama aldol reaction. As stated, attack of the enol silane 11 on the activated aldehyde 12 provides carbocation 13. Prior to silyl group transfer or outright silyl cleavage seen in the mechanism above, removal of the a-hydrogen regenerates the enol silane 14. While highly dependent on specific reaction conditions, the isolation of 15 leads to the suggestion of 14 as a potential intermediate in the Mukaiyama aldol reaction. 

Figure 10. Mechanistic proposals for MlO-dependent aminomutase chemistry based on the proposed mechanistic schemes for MIO-based ammonia lyases, (a) Friedel-Crafts mechanism invoking acidification ofbenzylic protons following carbocation formation, (b) Amino-MIO adduct mechanism invoking a-amino group quaternarization via alkylation with MIO followed by C-N bond scission and subsequent MIO-adduct directed Michael addition to afford the new C-N...

Masahiro Yoshida of the University of Tokushima described Tetrahedron Lett. 2008, 49, 5021) the Pt-mediated rearrangement of alkynyl oxiranes such as 1 to the furan 2. Roman Dembinski of Oakland University reported J. Org. Chem. 2008, 73, 5881) a related zinc-mediated rearrangement of propargyl ketones to furans. The cychzation of aryloxy ketones such as 3 to the benzofuran 4 developed Tetrahedron Lett. 2008, 49, 6579) by Ikyon Kim of the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology is likely proceeding by a Friedel-Crafts mechanism. 

The high regioselectivily of the reaction is mainly controlled by the electronic properties of the arenes. Double allylation may occur when using more electron-rich arenes such as l,2,3-trimetho ybenzene. The mechanism of this reaction is based on an iron-promoted SET oxidation leading to a benzyl radical 16-B and then to a ben l cation 16-C, which reacts with electron-rich arenes via a Friedel-Crafts mechanism, the reduced hydroquinone 16-E abstracting a proton, leading to the allylated arenes (Scheme 4.16). 

While a Friedel-Crafts mechanism involving ionic intermediates cannot be ruled out, MacMillan proposed an alternative mechanism that includes a radical intermediate (Scheme 7.16). An enammonium radical cation is considered to be generated from a chiral iminium ion via one-electron oxidation, and then undergoes a cyclization reaction. A second one-electron oxidation, followed by re-aromatization, completes the catalytic cycle. Theoretical calculations for the reaction depicted in Scheme 7.16 indicated that the radical mechanism would favor ort/to-selective cyclization, while a Friedel-Crafts mechanism would result in para-selective cyclization. Since the reaction gave the ort/zo-selective cyclization product as a major product, the radical pathway is plausible. ... 

Production of substituted poly (aniline) s seem to be straight forward and it can be generated via oxidative polymerization of corresponding monomer. However, in many cases the desired substituted polymer is hard to obtain. In present investigation PANI(s) have been prepared chemically by direct oxidation of aniline and electrochemical oxidation of aniline on GC electrode. The substitution reaction of polymer with 3-chloropropylthiol and ferric chloride occurred via Friedel-Craft mechanism. Although for bulk chemically prepared polymer this method is restricted due to low to mod-... 

Secondary alkyl halides react by a similar mechanism involving attack on benzene by a secondary carbocation Methyl and ethyl halides do not form carbocations when treated with aluminum chloride but do alkylate benzene under Friedel-Crafts conditions The aluminum chloride complexes of methyl and ethyl halides contain highly polarized carbon-halogen bonds and these complexes are the electrophilic species that react with benzene... 

FIGURE 12 7 The mechanism of Friedel-Crafts alkylation The molecular model depicts the cyclohexadienyl cation intermediate formed in step 1... 

Mechanism. The mechanism of alkylation and of other related Friedel-Crafts reactions is best explained by the carbocation concept. The alkylation of benzene with isopropyl chloride may be used as a general example ... 

Bromination can be conveniently effected by transfer of bromine from one nucleus to another. As the Friedel-Crafts isomerization of bromoaromatic compounds generally takes place through an intermolecular mechanism, the migrating bromine atom serves as a source of positive bromine, thus effecting ring brominations (161,162). 2,4,6-Tribromophenol, for example, has been prepared by bromination of phenol with dibromobenzene. 

Friedel-Crafts (Lewis) acids have been shown to be much more effective in the initiation of cationic polymerization when in the presence of a cocatalyst such as water, alkyl haUdes, and protic acids. Virtually all feedstocks used in the synthesis of hydrocarbon resins contain at least traces of water, which serves as a cocatalyst. The accepted mechanism for the activation of boron trifluoride in the presence of water is shown in equation 1 (10). Other Lewis acids are activated by similar mechanisms. In a more general sense, water may be replaced by any appropriate electron-donating species (eg, ether, alcohol, alkyl haUde) to generate a cationic intermediate and a Lewis acid complex counterion. 

The mechanism of initiation in cationic polymerization using Friedel-Crafts acids appeared to be clarified by the discovery that most Friedel-Crafts acids, particularly haUdes of boron, titanium, and tin, require an additional cation source to initiate polymerization. Evidence has been accumulating, however, that in many systems Friedel-Crafts acids alone are able to initiate cationic polymerization. The polymerization of isobutylene for instance can be initiated, reportedly even in the absence of an added initiator, by AlBr or AlCl (19), TiCl ( )- Three fundamentally different... 

All these kinetic results can be accommodated by a general mechanism that incorporates the following fundamental components (1) complexation of the alkylating agent and the Lewis acid (2) electrophilic attack on the aromatic substrate to form the a-complex and (3) deprotonation. In many systems, there m be an ionization of the complex to yield a discrete carbocation. This step accounts for the fact that rearrangement of the alkyl group is frequently observed during Friedel-Crafts alkylation. 

Many of the reactions of BF3 are of the Friedel-Crafts type though they are perhaps not strictly catalytic since BF3 is required in essentially equimolar quantities with the reactant. The mechanism is not always fully understood but it is generally agreed that in most cases ionic intermediates are produced by or promoted by the formation of a BX3 complex electrophilic attack of the substrate by the cation so produced completes the process. For example, in the Friedel-Crafts-type alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbons ... 

This activation of the ortho position is most strikingly illustrated in the reactivity of 2,5-dimethylthiophene, which competitive experiments have shown to undergo the SnCb-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts reaction more rapidly than thiophene and even 2-methylthiophene. The influence of the reagent on the isomer distribution is evident from the fact that 2-methoxythiophene is formylated and bromi-nated (with A -bromosuccinimide) only in the 5-position. Similarly, although 3-bromo-2-methylthiophene has been detected in the bromi-nation of 2-methylthiophene with bromine, only the 5-isomer (besides some side-chain bromination) is obtained in the bromination of alkylthiophenes with A -bromosuccinimide. ° However, the mechanism of the latter type of bromination is not established. No lines attributable to 2-methyl-3-thiocyanothiophene or 2-methyl-3-chIoro-thiophene could be detected in the NMR spectra of the substitution products (5-isomers) obtained upon thiocyanation with thiocyanogen or chlorination with sulfuryl chloride. 2-Methyl- and 2-ethyl-thiophene give, somewhat unexpectedly, upon alkylation with t-butyl chloride in the presence of Feds, only 5-t-butyl monosubstituted and... 

An ingenious synthesis of 1-arylisoindolcs has been developed by Vebor and Lwowski, based upon the reaction of an o-phthalimido-methylbenzophenone (41, R = aryl) with hydrazine (Table IV). The benzophenone is prepared by a Friedel-Crafts reaction with o-phthalimidomethylbenzoyl chloride (40). The mechanism of isoindole formation can be represented sehematically by a sequence involving attack by hydrazine at the imide to give the ring-opened hj drazide (42), followed by cyclization to phthalazine-l,4-dione (44) with displacement of the o-aminomethylbenzophenone (43). Intramolecular condensation of the latter can lead, via the isoindolenine... 

The mechanism for that step is closely related to that of the Friedel-Crafts acylation. Upon subsequent hydrolysis the o-substituted Lewis acid-coordinated phenolate 7 is converted to the free o-acylphenol 2. By an analogous route, involving an electrophilic aromatic substitution para to the phenolate oxygen, the corresponding para-acylphenol is formed. 

It should be noted that Scheme 5.1-44 shows idealized Friedel-Crafts allcylation reactions. In practice, there are a number of problems associated with the reaction. These include polyalkylation reactions, since the products of a Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction are often more reactive than the starting material. Also, isomerization and rearrangement reactions can occur, and can result in a large number of products [74, 75]. The mechanism of Friedel-Crafts reactions is not straightforward, and it is possible to propose two or more different mechanisms for a given reaction. Examples of the typical processes occurring in a Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction are given in Scheme 5.1-45 for the reaction between 1-chloropropane and benzene. 

Mechanism of the Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction of benzene with 2-chloropropane to yield isopropylbenzene (cumene). 

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 carbocation electrophile in a Friedel-Crafts reaction can be generated in ways other than by reaction of an alkyl chloride with AICI3. For example, reaction of benzene with 2-methylpropene in the presence of H3PO4 yields tert-butylbenzene. Propose a mechanism for this reaction. 

Stamatoff and Wittmann reported a synthesis of a 2-(4-phenoxyphenyl)hexa-duoroisopropanol in the presence of HF and an organic solvent via a Friedel-Crafts reaction, as shown in Scheme 6.29.231 The resulting polymer could be compression molded at 330-350°C. It also exhibited excellent thermostability and mechanical properties. 

Since initiation with conventional Friedel-Crafts halides cannot be controlled, the fine-tuning of reactions becomes extremely cumbersome. In contrast, by the use of alkylaluminum compounds elementary events (initiation, termination, transfer) become controllable and thus molecular engineering becomes possible. Indeed, by elucidating the mechanism of initiation etc., a large variety of new materials, i.e., block3, graft4-6 bigraft7 copolymers, have been synthesized and some of their physical-chemical properties determined. 

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