Halogen addition, mechanism

These observations must be taken into account when considering the mechanism of halogen addition They force the conclusion that a simple one step bond switching process of the following type cannot be correct A process of this type requires syn addi tion It IS not consistent with the anti addition that we actually see... 

MECHANISM OF HALOGEN ADDITION TO ALKENES HALONIUM IONS... 

Mechanism of Halogen Addition to Alkenes Halonium Ions... 

Both parts of the Lapworth mechanism enol formation and enol halogenation are new to us Let s examine them m reverse order We can understand enol halogenation by analogy to halogen addition to alkenes An enol is a very reactive kind of alkene Its carbon-carbon double bond bears an electron releasing hydroxyl group which makes it electron rich and activates it toward attack by electrophiles... 

Bromine and chlorine convert the 1- and 2-butenes to compounds containing two atoms of halogens attached to adjacent carbons (vicinal dihahdes). Iodine fails to react. In this two-step addition mechanism the first step involves the formation of a cation. The halonium ion formed (a three-membered ring) requires antiaddition by the anion. 

The bromonium ion postulate, made more than 75 years ago to explain the stereochemistry of halogen addition to alkenes, is a remarkable example of deductive logic in chemistry. Arguing from experimental results, chemists were able to make a hypothesis about the intimate mechanistic details of alkene electrophilic reactions. Subsequently, strong evidence supporting the mechanism came from the work of George Olah, who prepared and studied stable... 

HC1, HBr, and HI add to alkenes by a two-step electrophilic addition mechanism. Initial reaction of the nucleophilic double bond with H+ gives a carbo-cation intermediate, which then reacts with halide ion. Bromine and chlorine add to alkenes via three-membered-ring bromonium ion or chloronium ion intermediates to give addition products having anti stereochemistry. If water is present during the halogen addition reaction, a halohydrin is formed. 

The HX compounds are electrophilic reagents, and many polyhalo and polycyano alkenes, (e.g., Cl2C=CHCl) do not react with them at all in the absence of free-radical conditions. When such reactions do occur, however, they take place by a nucleophilic addition mechanism, (i.e., initial attack is by X ). This type of mechanism also occurs with Michael-type substrates C=C—Z, where the orientation is always such that the halogen goes to the carbon that does not bear the Z, so the product is of the form X—C—CH—Z, even in the presence of free-radical initiators. Hydrogen iodide adds 1,4 to conjugated dienes in the gas phase by a pericyclic mechanism ... 

In addition to the polar mechanism already considered (p. 179), halogen addition to alkenes can proceed via radical intermediates. The former is favoured by polar solvents and by the presence of Lewis acid catalysts, the latter by non-polar solvents (or in the gas phase),... 

More recently, based on the results of an extensive series of small scale degradation studies, two additional mechanisms for the volatilization of antimony from antimony oxide/organohalogen flame retardant systems have been proposed (23,24). Of these two proposed mechanisms, [4] and [5], [4] does not involve HX formation at all and [5] suggests an important role for the direct interaction of the polymer substrate with the metal oxide prior to its reaction with the halogen compound. 

Nucleophilic substitutions are in many cases facile processes in heterocyclic chemistry. Also, in the area of the present chapter, many such routine transformations have been carried out. Such transformations are summarized in Table 6, where the structures of the starting compounds, products, the reagents, yields, and references are listed. These include reactions of halogen, methoxy, and methylsulfanyl derivatives with amines or alkoxides. One exceptional case (Table 6, entry 9) should be pointed out this exchange reaction, unlike the others in this table, proceeds via an elimination-addition mechanism. A few related transformations that follow more complicated pathways and therefore could not be classified unambiguously into this table, can be found in Table 7 in Section 11.17.5.6.5. 

All three membranes are responsive to attack by halogens. Chemical interaction evidently proceeds by more than one reaction mechanism. A possible explanation involves halogen addition as evidenced by membrane tightening. A second process may result in chemical bond cleavage which ultimately causes membrane failure. Halogen attack on membrane U-1 is probably dominated by bond cleavage which is enhanced as pH decreases. 

Membranes A-2 and X-2 evidently respond according to more complicated chemical models. The observed membrane tightening may result from halogen addition. Subsequent performance decline is probably related to bond cleavage. With membrane X-2, it appears that both the extent and mechanism of halogen attack are strongly pH dependent. 

Michael Faraday reported in 1821 that chlorine addition to alkenes is Stimulated by sunlightand today this is taken to indicate the involvement of a free radical process (equation 26). Free radical chain mechanisms were proposed in 1927 by Berthoud and Beraneck for the isomerization of stilbene catalyzed by Br2 (equation 27), and by Wachholtz for bromine addition to ethyl maleate (equation 28).Later studies showed inhibition of halogen addition by reaction of the intermediate radicals with oxygen, and a free radical chain mechanism for solution and gas phase halogenations as in equation (26) was shown (equation 29). Kinetic and mechanistic... 

There is wide diversity in the nature of organohalogen compounds but, of necessity, we have restricted this chapter to alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, and aryl halides. Some of the chemistry of the carbon-halogen bonds already will be familiar to you because it involves the addition, substitution, and elimination reactions discussed in previous chapters. To some extent, we will amplify these reactions and consider nucleophilic substitution by what are called the addition-elimination and elimination-addition mechanisms. Subsequently, we will discuss the formation of carbon-metal bonds from carbon-halogen bonds. The latter type of reaction is of special value because compounds that have carbon-metal bonds are potent reagents for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds, as we will show later in this chapter. 

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