Friedel-Crafts reaction rearrangement

Benzilic acid rearrangement Benzoin reaction (condensation) Blanc chloromethylation reaction Bouveault-Blanc reduction Bucherer hydantoin synthesis Bucherer reaction Cannizzaro reaction Claisen aldoi condensation Claisen condensation Claisen-Schmidt reaction. Clemmensen reduction Darzens glycidic ester condensation Diazoamino-aminoazo rearrangement Dieckmann reaction Diels-Alder reaction Doebner reaction Erlenmeyer azlactone synthesis Fischer indole synthesis Fischer-Speior esterification Friedel-Crafts reaction... 

Oxazol-5(2H)-one, 2-benzylidene-4-methyl-tautomerism, 6, 186 Oxazol-5(2ff)-one, 2-methylene-isomerization, 6, 226 Oxazol-5(2H)-one, 2-trifluoromethyl-acylation, 6, 201 Oxazol-5(4ff)-one, 4-allyl-thermal rearrangements, 6, 199 Oxazol-5(4H)-one, 4(arylmethylene)-Friedel-Crafts reactions, 6, 205 geometrical isomerism, 6, 185 Oxazol-5(4ff)-one, 4-benzylidene-2-phenyl-configuration, 6, 185 photorearrangement, 6, 201 Oxazol-5(4ff)-one, 4-benzyl-2-methyl-Friedel-Crafts reactions, 6, 205 Oxazol-5(4ff)-one, 4-methylene-in amino acid synthesis, 6, 203 Oxazol-5(4ff) -one. 2-trifluoromethyl-hydrolysis, 6, 206 Oxazolones... 

This section deals with Bronsted acid and Lewis acid catalyzed reactions, excluding Friedel-Crafts reactions, but including reactions such as nitrations, halogenations, and Claisen rearrangements. Friedel-Crafts reactions are discussed in the subsequent Sections 5.1.2.2 and 5.1.2.3. 

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. 

Yet a final limitation to the Friedel-Crafts reaction is that a skeletal rearrangement of the alkyl carbocation electrophile sometimes occurs during reaction, particularly when a primary alkyl halide is used. Treatment of benzene with 1-chlorobutane at 0 °C, for instance, gives an approximately 2 1 ratio of rearranged (sec-butyl) to unrearranged (butyl) products. 

Strategy A Friedel-Crafts reaction involves initial formation of a carbocation, which can rearrange by either a hydride shift or an alkyl shift to give a more stable carbocation. Draw the initial carbocation, assess its stability, and see if the shift of a hydride ion or an alkyl group from a neighboring carbon will result in increased stability. In the present instance, the initial carbocation is a secondary one that can rearrange to a more stable tertiary one by a hydride shift. 

Problem 16.4 Which of the following alkyl halides would you expect to undergo Friedel-Crafts reaction without rearrangement Explain. 

Apart from the possibility of rearrangement, the main drawback in the preparative use of this Friedel-Crafts reaction is polyalkylation (cf. p. 153). The presence of an electron-withdrawing substituent is generally sufficient to inhibit Friedel-Crafts alkylation thus nitrobenzene is often used as a solvent for the reaction because A1C13 dissolves readily in it, thus avoiding a heterogeneous reaction. 

To be really satisfactory, a Friedel-Crafts alkylation requires one relatively stable secondary or tertiary carbocation to be formed from the alkyl halide by interaction with the Lewis acid, i.e. cases where there is not going to be any chance of rearrangement. Note also that we are unable to generate carboca-tions from an aryl halide - aryl cations (also vinyl cations, see Section 8.1.3) are unfavourable - so that we cannot nse the Friedel-Crafts reaction to join aromatic gronps. There is also one further difficulty, as we shall see below. This is the fact that introduction of an alkyl substitnent on to an aromatic ring activates the ring towards fnrther electrophilic substitution. The result is that the initial product from Friedel-Crafts alkylations is more reactive than the... 

Aminophenols from anilines, 35, 2 Anhydrides of aliphatic dibasic acids, Friedel-Crafts reaction with, 5, 5 Anion-assisted sigmatropic rearrangements, 43, 2 Anthracene homologs, synthesis of, 1, 6 Anti-Markownikoff hydration of alkenes, 13, 1... 

Because salicylic acid contains the deactivating meta-directing carboxyl group, Friedel-Crafts reactions are generally inhibited. This effect is somewhat offset by the presence of the activating hydroxyl group. Salicylic acid reacts with isobutyl or /-butyl alcohol in 80 wt % sulfuric acid at 75°C to yield 5-/-butylsalicylic acid [16094-31-8], In the case of isobutyl alcohol, the intermediate carbonium ion rearranges to (CH3)3C+. 

This type of duality of action is presumably present in other situations, such as the Fries rearrangement (78), the Friedel-Crafts reaction with acid chlorides (65) or acid anhydrides (21), and the catalytic chlorination of nitrobenzene (17). In these reactions it appears that the uncoordinated Lewis acid is the effective catalyst. The same situation is illustrated by recent work on aromatic amination (32, 33) and halogenation (57, 58, 71) and seems to be general feature of Lewis acid-catalyzed electrophilic reactions of aromatic compounds containing suitable donor groups. 

Reactions in this group may be divided into two categories those which may be described as Friedel-Crafts syntheses and the closely related preparations which involve a Fries rearrangement prior to a Friedel-Crafts reaction. 

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