Hydrogen electrophiles

Electrophilic substitution reactions are those where an electrophile displaces another group, usually a hydrogen. Electrophilic substitution occurs in aromatic compounds. 

One can hope to stop the reaction of hydrogen electrophilic substitution in such cases at the stage of arenium ion formation. Anthracene and nitronium tetrafluoroborate reacted in sulpholane to form a complex which was converted into 9-nitroanthracene It was assumed that this complex is the tetrafluoroborate of the 9-nitroanthracenium ion (23). However, more recent data on reactions of methylbenzenes with nitronium tetrafluoroborate do not support this conclusion. 

This view is supported by the fact that if diazominobenzene is dissolved in dimethylaniline in the presence of the hydrochloride of the latter, the main product is p-dimethylamino-azobenzene, CgHjN=NCgHgN(CH3)2 this is because dimethylaniline couples in the nucleus more readily than does aniline. The reaction is an electrophilic displacement of hydrogen by the diazonium ioii ... 

The superacid-catalyzed electrophile oxygenation of saturated hydrocarbons, including methane with hydrogen peroxide (via H302 ) or ozone (via HOs ), allowed the efficient preparation of oxygenated derivatives. 

The relative basicities of aromatic hydrocarbons, as represented by the equilibrium constants for their protonation in mixtures of hydrogen fluoride and boron trifluoride, have been measured. The effects of substituents upon these basicities resemble their effects upon the rates of electrophilic substitutions a linear relationship exists between the logarithms of the relative basicities and the logarithms of the relative rate constants for various substitutions, such as chlorination and... 

As well as the cr-complexes discussed above, aromatic molecules combine with such compounds as quinones, polynitro-aromatics and tetra-cyanoethylene to give more loosely bound structures called charge-transfer complexes. Closely related to these, but usually known as Tt-complexes, are the associations formed by aromatic compounds and halogens, hydrogen halides, silver ions and other electrophiles. 

The occurrence of a hydrogen isotope effect in an electrophilic substitution will certainly render nugatory any attempt to relate the reactivity of the electrophile with the effects of substituents. Such a situation occurs in mercuration in which the large isotope effect = 6) has been attributed to the weakness of the carbon-mercury bond relative to the carbon-hydrogen bond. The following scheme has been formulated for the reaction, and the occurrence of the isotope effect indicates that the magnitudes of A j and are comparable ... 

This genera] scheme could be used to explain hydrogen exchange in the 5-position, providing a new alternative for the reaction (466). This leads us also to ask whether some reactions described as typically electrophilic cannot also be rationalized by a preliminary hydration of the C2=N bond. The nitration reaction of 2-dialkylaminothiazoles could occur, for example, on the enamine-like intermediate (229) (Scheme 141). This scheme would explain why alkyl groups on the exocyclic nitrogen may drastically change the reaction pathway (see Section rV.l.A). Kinetic studies and careful analysis of by-products would enable a check of this hypothesis. 

An interesting rearrangement of the (4-methyl-2-thiazolyl)thioureas (263) has recently been reported (Scheme 160) (303). The reaction mechanism is currently under investigation. This reaction does not occur if the 4-methyl substituent in the thiazole ring of 263 is replaced by an hydrogen, which suggests an electrophilic attack on C-5 as the mechanism of this reaction. 

Hydrogen exchange, in thiazole, especially deuteration, has been quantitatively investigated (379,380), but the mechanism of the reaction carried out at acidic or neutral pH corresponds to a protonation-deprotonation process (380), different from electrophilic substitution and is discussed in section I.3.E. 

Kharasch proposed that hydrogen bromide can add to alkenes by two different mechanisms both of which are regiospecific The first mechanism is electrophilic addi tion and follows Markovmkov s rule... 

The regioselectivity of addition of HBr to alkenes under normal (electrophilic addi tion) conditions is controlled by the tendency of a proton to add to the double bond so as to produce the more stable carbocatwn Under free radical conditions the regioselec tivity IS governed by addition of a bromine atom to give the more stable alkyl radical Free radical addition of hydrogen bromide to the double bond can also be initiated photochemically either with or without added peroxides... 

Among the hydrogen halides only hydrogen bromide reacts with alkenes by both electrophilic and free radical addition mechanisms Hydrogen iodide and hydrogen chlo ride always add to alkenes by electrophilic addition and follow Markovmkov s rule Hydrogen bromide normally reacts by electrophilic addition but if peroxides are pres ent or if the reaction is initiated photochemically the free radical mechanism is followed... 

Markovmkov s rule is obeyed because the mechanism of sulfuric acid addition to alkenes illustrated for the case of propene m Figure 6 8 is analogous to that described earlier for the electrophilic addition of hydrogen halides... 

The electrophilic character of boron is again evident when we consider the oxida tion of organoboranes In the oxidation phase of the hydroboration-oxidation sequence as presented m Figure 6 11 the conjugate base of hydrogen peroxide attacks boron Hydroperoxide ion is formed m an acid-base reaction m step 1 and attacks boron m step 2 The empty 2p orbital of boron makes it electrophilic and permits nucleophilic reagents such as HOO to add to it... 

Hydrogen bromide is unique among the hydrogen halides m that it can add to alkenes either by electrophilic or free radical addition Under photochemical conditions or m the presence of peroxides free radical addition is observed and HBr adds to the double bond with a regio selectivity opposite to that of Markovmkov s rule... 

Alkynes react with many of the same electrophilic reagents that add to the carbon-carbon double bond of alkenes Hydrogen halides for example add to alkynes to form alkenyl halides... 

When formulating a mechanism for the reaction of alkynes with hydrogen halides we could propose a process analogous to that of electrophilic addition to alkenes m which the first step is formation of a carbocation and is rate determining The second step according to such a mechanism would be nucleophilic capture of the carbocation by a halide ion... 

Evidence from a variety of sources however indicates that alkenyl cations (also called vinylic cations) are much less stable than simple alkyl cations and their involve ment m these additions has been questioned Eor example although electrophilic addi tion of hydrogen halides to alkynes occurs more slowly than the corresponding additions... 

FIGURE 9 5 (a) Curved arrow notation and (b) transition state for electrophilic addition of a hydrogen halide HXto an alkyne... 

Furthermore kinetic studies reveal that electrophilic addition of hydrogen halides to alkynes follows a rate law that is third order overall and second order in hydrogen halide... 

Both resonance forms of the allylic carbocation from 1 3 cyclopentadiene are equivalent and so attack at either of the carbons that share the positive charge gives the same product 3 chlorocyclopentene This is not the case with 1 3 butadiene and so hydrogen halides add to 1 3 butadiene to give a mixture of two regioisomeric allylic halides For the case of electrophilic addition of hydrogen bromide at -80°C... 

When the major product of a reaction is the one that is formed at the fastest rate we say that the reaction is governed by kinetic control Most organic reactions fall into this category and the electrophilic addition of hydrogen bromide to 1 3 butadiene at low temperature is a kmetically controlled reaction... 

Reduction of arenes by catalytic hydrogenation was described m Section 114 A dif ferent method using Group I metals as reducing agents which gives 1 4 cyclohexadiene derivatives will be presented m Section 1111 Electrophilic aromatic substitution is the most important reaction type exhibited by benzene and its derivatives and constitutes the entire subject matter of Chapter 12... 

The regioselectivity of electrophilic addition is governed by the ability of an aro matic ring to stabilize an adjacent carbocation This is clearly seen m the addition of hydrogen chloride to mdene Only a single chloride is formed... 

A different reaction takes place when electrophiles react with arenes Substitution is observed instead of addition If we represent an arene by the general formula ArH where Ar stands for an aryl group the electrophihc portion of the reagent replaces one of the hydrogens on the ring... 

Isoprene has sometimes been used as a starting matenal in the laboratory synthesis of ter penes In one such synthesis the first step is the electrophilic addition of 2 moles of hydrogen bromide to isoprene to give 1 3 dibromo 3 methylbutane... 

Activating substituent (Sections 12 10 and 12 12) A group that when present in place of a hydrogen causes a particular reaction to occur faster Term is most often applied to sub stituents that increase the rate of electrophilic aromatic sub stitution... 

Electrophilic aromatic substitution (Section 12 1) Fundamen tal reaction type exhibited by aromatic compounds An electrophilic species (E" ) attacks an aromatic ring and re places one of the hydrogens... 

Nitration (Section 12 3) Replacement of a hydrogen by an —NO2 group The term is usually used in connection with electrophilic aromatic substitution... 

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