Heteroaromatic Substitution Reactions

The aromaticity of such inorganic ring systems as borazine, the phosphonitrilic halides (69), and the thiazyl halides (70) has been studied extensively from a theoretical viewpoint.  

Many examples of nucleophilic substitutions of the phosphonitrilic hahdes are known and the first physical-organic papers on the 

In hydroxyUc solvents, the reaction with aniline follows a bi-molecular course but is complicated by competing solvolysis. This is a striking result when compared with the behavior of picryl chloride, which is much more selective with regard to the same reagents (aniline and alcohol), and has been interpreted to mean that bond-breaking has made appreciable progress in the rate-determining step of the reaction of phosphonitrilic chloride. Furthermore, the same indication is obtained from the fact that in the reactions of the halides, the fluorine chlorine ratios are less than one.  

In non-polar solvents, the reaction with piperidine is best represented by a two-term kinetic form indicating a mixed 2nd- and 3rd-order reaction. Also, base catalysis by tri-ri-butylamine was observed. This kinetic pattern is strongly reminiscent of the results obtained with nitro-activated benzenes.Another interesting result is that stepwise replacement of chlorine atoms by amino groups results in marked 

What are the details of the reaction mechanism for inorganic aromatic heterocycles While we are still arguing about aromatic substitutions, we wish to add this new challenge for future investigations. 

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A variety of different sources of radicals have been used in several heteroaromatic substitution reactions [2] these include acyl peroxides, oxaziridines, thiohydroxa-mic Barton esters, the Gif reaction, alkyl xanthates, and ketones/H202 (Scheme 8). 

The relative mobilities of groups undergoing displacement has been much studied in nitro-activated systems but has received little attention in heteroaromatic substitution reactions. From a survey of the available studies, a number of relative mobilities can be deduced for Cl, Br, and I in some aza-activated compounds, iV -oxides, and... 

In addition to benzene and naphthalene derivatives, heteroaromatic compounds such as ferrocene[232, furan, thiophene, selenophene[233,234], and cyclobutadiene iron carbonyl complexpSS] react with alkenes to give vinyl heterocydes. The ease of the reaction of styrene with sub.stituted benzenes to give stilbene derivatives 260 increases in the order benzene < naphthalene < ferrocene < furan. The effect of substituents in this reaction is similar to that in the electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions[236]. 

One of the merits of the above treatment, which justifies its inclusion in this review, is that it allows a quantitative comparison of the selectivity of nucleophilic heteroaromatic substitution (expressed by the reaction constant) with that for the analogous reaction with nitro-activated systems. Values for the latter are in the range 3.6 to 6.0. The fact that in both cases high p-values of similar magnitude are found is consistent with the hypothesis of similar mechanisms for both classes of compounds. 

The preceding Sections illustrate several experimental features of heteroaromatic substitutions. It is now intended to comment on some of these features which are most significant in terms of reaction mechanism. As stated in the Introduction, a possible mechanism of nucleophilic bimolecular aromatic substitution reactions is that represented by Eq. (14), where an intermediate of some stability... 

The pyridine family of heteroaromatic nitrogen compounds is reactive toward nucleophilic substitution at the C(2) and C(4) positions. The nitrogen atom serves to activate the ring toward nucleophilic attack by stabilizing the addition intermediate. This kind of substitution reaction is especially important in the chemistry of pyrimidines. 

Scheme 6.119 Nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions involving halo-substituted N-heteroaromatic ring systems.

Other electrophilic substitution reactions on aromatic and heteroaromatic systems are summarized in Scheme 6.143. Friedel-Crafts alkylation of N,N-dimethyl-aniline with squaric acid dichloride was accomplished by heating the two components in dichloromethane at 120 °C in the absence of a Lewis acid catalyst to provide a 23% yield of the 2-aryl-l-chlorocydobut-l-ene-3,4-dione product (Scheme 6.143 a) [281]. Hydrolysis of the monochloride provided a 2-aryl-l-hydroxycyclobut-l-ene-3,4-dione, an inhibitor of protein tyrosine phosphatases [281], Formylation of 4-chloro-3-nitrophenol with hexamethylenetetramine and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) at 115 °C for 5 h furnished the corresponding benzaldehyde in 43% yield, which was further manipulated into a benzofuran derivative (Scheme 6.143b) [282]. 4-Chloro-5-bromo-pyrazolopyrimidine is an important intermediate in the synthesis of pyrazolopyrimi-dine derivatives showing activity against multiple kinase subfamilies (see also Scheme 6.20) and can be rapidly prepared from 4-chloropyrazolopyrimidine and N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) by microwave irradiation in acetonitrile (Scheme... 

There is a limited number of examples of preparations involving the reaction of stannyl-alkali metal compounds with a substituted heteroarene, for example, Equations (58)-(60).88,197,198 Some of these reactions (e g Equation (58)) occur only with photoirradiation, showing that they involve SRN1 processes, but others may be straightforward nucleophilic heteroaromatic substitutions. 

The heteroaromatic stannanes undergo the normal electrophilic substitution reactions of their protic precursors, and often to an enhanced degree. They are often prepared with the aim of a subsequent Stille cross-coupling reaction, and oligothiophenes with potentially useful optical and electron properties have been prepared by coupling between stannyl- and bromo-thiophenes, for example, Equation (63).204... 

Homolytic alkylation of homocyclic aromatic substrates is of much less interest than homolytic arylation because, in addition to the low selectivity, which also characterizes arylation, yields are usually poor, due to side reactions which compete seriously with the simple substitution reaction. The behavior of nonprotonated heteroaromatic substrates is similar. The case is quite different with protonated heteroaromatic bases because side reactions are eliminated or minimized, yields are generally good, and, above all, the selectivity is very high. Moreover, very versatile and easily available sources of alkyl radicals can be used under simple experimental condition it follows that homolytic alkylation of protonated heteroaromatic bases can be considered one of the main reactions of this class of compounds. 

This awareness in a short time led to new homolytic aromatic substitutions, characterized by high selectivity and versatility. Further developments along these lines can be expected, especially as regards reactions of nucleophilic radicals with protonated heteroaromatic bases, owing to the intrinsic interest of these reactions and to the fact that classical direct ionic substitution (electrophilic and nucleophilic) has several limitations in this class of compound and does not always offer alternative synthetic solutions. Homolytic substitution in heterocyclic compounds can no longer be considered the Cinderella of substitution reactions. 

Aromatic substitution reactions are often complicated and multistep processes. A correlation, however, in many cases can be found between the charged attacking species and the electron density distribution in the molecule attacked during electrophilic and nucleoph c substitution. No such correlation is expected in radical substitution where the attacking particles are neutral, rather a correlation between the reactivities of separate bonds and a free valency index of the bond order. This allows the prediction of the most reactive bonds. Such an approach has been used by researchers who applied quantum calculations to estimate the reactivities of the isomeric thienothiophenes and to compare them with thiophene or naphthalene. " Until recently quantum methods for studying reactivities of aromatics and heteroaromatics were developed mainly in the r-electron approximation (see, for example, Streitwieser and Zahradnik ). The M orbitals of a sulfur atom were shown not to contribute substantially to calculations of dipole moments, polarographic reduction potentials, spin-density distribution, ... 

Reactivity dealt with in the following sections is limited only to that of the heteroaromatic ring of pyrazines, quinoxalines, and phenazines, but exceptionally the reactivity on the benzo moiety of quinoxaline and phenazine is described in the Section 8.03.5.3. In general, any type of substitution reaction on quinoxaline and phenazine should be more facile than with pyrazine because of the resonance stabilization effect of the additional benzenoid ring on the transition states leading to the products. 

Nucleophilic substitution reactions (SnAt) are among the most common transformations of pyrimidines. Direct displacements of a variety of leaving groups have been reported, such as the reactions of 23 with heteroaromatic nucleophiles which produced 2-substituted pyrimidines 24 <99JCS(P1)1325>. 

In contrast to the ease of reaction of ring nitrogen atoms in 77-deficient six-membered heterocycles with electrophiles, electrophilic heteroaromatic substitution at carbon of the unsubstituted compounds proceeds only under very drastic conditions and yields of products are usually very poor. This is also true with pyridinium, pyrylium and thiopyrylium salts,... 

Homolytic Substitution Reactions of Heteroaromatic Compounds in Solution K. C. Bass and P. Nababsing, Adv. Free-Radical Chem., 1972, 4, 1-48. 

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