Halobenzenes nitration

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... 

Many variations of the reaction can be carried out, including halogenation, nitration, and sulfonation. Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation reactions, which involve reaction of an aromatic ling with carbocation electrophiles, are particularly useful. They are limited, however, by the fact that the aromatic ring must be at least as reactive as a halobenzene. In addition, polyalkylation and carbocation rearrangements often occur in Friedel-Crafts alkylation. 

That the steric factor is not the sole determinant is, however, seen in the figures for the nitration of the halobenzenes, which are o-/p-directing but on which overall attack is slightly slower than on benzene (p. 155) ... 

Changes in intramolecular selectivity in the bromination and nitration of alkyl-benzenes in acidic media have been attributed to changes in medium polarity or changes in electrophile solvation. Mass spectrometric studies of the first stage in the gas-phase reactions of halobenzenes, furan, thiophene and pyrrole with alkyl cations have been rationalized in terms of co-existing a- and tt-complexes. The extent of... 

Halogen substituents withdraw electron density from the aromatic nucleus but direct olp-through resonance effects. The result is that halobenzenes undergo nitration with more difficulty relative to benzene. The nitration of chlorobenzene with strong mixed acid gives a mixture of 2,4- and 2,6-isomeric dinitrochlorobenzenes in which the former predominates." The nitration of 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene to 2,4,6-trinitrochlorobenzene (picryl chloride) requires an excess of fuming nitric acid in oleum at elevated temperature. Both are useful for the synthesis of other polynitroarylene explosives but only 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene finds industrial importance (Sections 4.8.1.2 and 4.8.1.3). 

Nitrodehalogenation can be effected, as for halobenzenes, but the reaction is only moderately effective even for the most reactive iodo compounds (equation 59).281 The reaction conditions of copper(II) nitrate and acetic anhydride are the most suitable for the general nitration of chelated... 

The first adequate examination of the applicability of the Hammett equation to aromatic substitution was made by Roberts and his associates (1954). New data on the nitration of the halobenzenes together with the results for other substituted benzenes (Ingold, 1953) revealed that the rates for nitration in the meta position were, indeed, correlated satisfactorily by the Hammett rr-constants. Para substituents, in particular groups directing to the ortho and para positions, exhibit important deviations from the line defined by the meta reactivities (Fig. 3). It was suggested that these deviations were the consequence of significant resonance interactions in the transition state. At the same time, de la Mare (1954) examined the application of the Hammett parameters for the correlation of the relative rate data for non-catalytic chlorination. The poor agreement achieved (Fig. 4) prompted his conclusion that variable resonance interactions in the... 

Unfortunately, the several investigators who have examined the nitration of the halobenzenes did not adopt similar conditions. Ingold and his associates (1931) nitrated benzene and toluene by the addition of nitric acid to acetic anhydride and nitromethane. In acetic anhydride, nitric acid is slowly converted to acetyl nitrate (Bordwell and Garbisch, 1960). The relative rates, kT/kB, observed were 23 and 21 for reaction in acetic anhydride and nitromethane respectively. Bird and Ingold (1938) adopted different conditions. In a study of the halobenzenes, these workers added pre-formed acetyl nitrate to the halobenzene in acetic anhydride, acetonitrile, and nitromethane. The results for fluoro-, chloro-, and bromobenzene are summarized in Table 17 (p. 78). 

Roberts and his associates (1954) re-examined the nitration of the halobenzenes using fuming nitric acid as the reagent in both acetic anhydride and nitromethane. These workers detected a significant solvent effect on the relative rate. Iodobenzene was nitrated by nitric acid in acetic anhydride at a rate 0.13 times that of benzene, in nitromethane this reagent provided a rate ratio of 0.22. 

Relative Rates of Nitration of Halobenzenes Compared to Benzene0... 

Nitration and oxidation. Clay-supported Cu(N03)2, unlike clayfen (12,231), > shelf-stable for months. Like clayfen, it is a convenient source of N02+ and can leave thioacetals or selenoacetals to the carbonyl compound at 25° in high yield. It effects aromatization of 1,4-dihydropyridines in 80-92% yield. In the presence i acetic anhydride, it can effect nitration even of halobenzenes at 25° with marked, - jra-preference, which can be enhanced by use of lower temperatures. 

With this in mind, how would you expect fluorobenzene to react Most election density is removed first from the ortho positions by induction, then from the meta positions, and then from the para position. Any conjugation of the lone pairs on fluorine with the tc system would increase the electron density in the ortho and para positions. Both effects favour the para position and this is where most substitution occurs. But is the ring more or less reactive than benzene This is hard to say and the honest answer is that sometimes fluorobenzene is more reactive in the para position than benzene (for example, in proton exchange and in acetylation—see later) and sometimes it is less reactive than benzene (for example, in nitration). In all cases, fluorobenzene is significantly more reactive than the other halobenzenes. We appreciate that this is a rather surprising conclusion, but the evidence supports it. 

Data for the rate and the products of nitration of halobenzenes show these opposing effects clearly. 

Simple aromatic compounds such as benzene, alkylbenzene.s, and halobenzenes (e. g., 12) arc nitrated in quantitative yield and with high para selectivity in a solvent-frcc process by the use of a mixture of nitric acid and acetic anhydride at 0-20 C in the presence of zeolite beta... 

Novel reagents consisting of metallic nitrates impregnated on montmorillonite have been introduced in aromatic nitration. With clay-supported copper(II) nitrate in the presence of acetic anhydride it is possible to nitrate toluene quantitatively with a high para preference (79% para, 20% ortho, 1% meta). Also, good para selectivities have been found on nitration of some other aromatic hydrocarbons with copper(II) nitrate on clay. Halobenzenes are mononitrated with clay-supported copper(II) nitrate in the presence of acetic anhydride. Compared to other methods high para ortho ratios are obtained under these conditions. ... 

Uses. Tetramethylene sulfone has high solvent power for aromatics and has been used extensively by Olah and co-workers for Friedel-Crafts type nitrations and for studies of the mechanism of nitronium tetrafluoroborate nitration of alkyl-benzenes and halobenzenes in homogeneous solution. It is a superior solvent for quaternization of tertiary amines with alkyl halides, since it has a high dielectric constant and does not enter into side reactions observed with nitrobenzene and dimethylformamide. For example in the synthesis of the acridizinium salt (3), Bradsher and Parham effected quaternization of (1) with benzyl bromide in tetramethylene sulfone at room temperature in excellent yield. Several other salts analagous to (2) were obtained in good yield and in crystalline form with use of tetramethylene sulfone, whereas with other solvents the products were colored... 

Our investigations with Kuhn ( ) have shown that aromatic compounds, including deactivated ones such as halobenzenes and benzotrifluoride, can be nitrated with ease using nitryl halides and a suitable Friedel-Crafts catalyst. 

---