Hydroxylamines aromatic nitro groups

Reductions with zinc are carried out in aqueous [160 as well as anhydrous solvents [163 and at different pHs of the medium. The choice of the reaction conditions is very important since entirely different results may be obtained under different conditions. While reduction of aromatic nitro groups in alkali hydroxides or aqueous ammonia gives hydrazo compounds, reduction in aqueous ammonium chloride gives hydroxylamines, and reduction in acidic medium amines (p. 73). Of organic solvents the most efficient seem to be dimethyl formamide [164 and acetic anhydride [755]. However, alcohols have... 

Reduction of aromatic nitro groups occurs in three steps, via nitroso and hydroxylamine intermediates, to the amine. The amine can go on to form polymeric residues by a mechanism analogous to that for oxidative coupling of phenols, as in Equation 2. Abiotic nitro reduction is well documented for pesticides that contain aromatic nitro groups, such as the phosphorothioate esters methyl and ethyl parathion (22, 30-33). 

The reaction sequence involved in the hydrogenation of aromatic nitro groups is shown in Scheme 19.1. This can be classed as a complex Type III selectivity. The end product from all paths is the aniline (10), but intermediates such as hydroxylamines (11), azo (12), azoxy (13), and hydrazo (14) compounds are present and can sometimes be isolated under the proper reaction conditions. In general, the dimeric products usually form in alkaline media, the partially reduced monomeric species form in neutral solutions, and anilines are produced in acid. The best yields of partially reduced products are obtained when the reaction is interrupted before it stops spontaneously and when it is carried out in the presence of various modifiers. ... 

Medicinal chemists have tended to avoid the aromatic nitro group as a structural component of potential drugs because of the well-known ability of compounds such as trinitrotoluene (TNT), used in munitions, to cause a high incidence of methemoglobinemia following skin absorption. The mechanism involved is presumably in vivo reduction to nitroso and phenyl-hydroxylamine intermediates. However, many nonbenzenoid nitro compounds have been utilized in clinical practice since the introduction of the nitrofuran drugs in 1944. 

Alternatively, if such azides bear a l°-benzylic group they can be converted to A-methylanilines by reaction with EtsSiH and SnCl4. Wilkinson s catalyst and Et3SiH reduce aromatic nitro groups to their amines in moderate to good yields, while the combination of Pd(OAc)2 and EtsSiH in a THF-water mixture reduces aliphatic nitro groups to the A-hydroxylamines (eq 25). ... 

Pd and Pt for the hydrogenolyses of aromatic nitro groups (Pd gives anihne, Pt gives hydroxylamine)... 

The enzymatic reduction of the nitro group involves the stepwise addition of six reducing equivalents potentially derived from reduced pyridine nucleotides (Fig. 8). The first reaction yields a nitroso derivative which is subsequently reduced to a hydroxylamine the hydroxylamino compound is then reduced to the amine. In most systems studied to date (Cemiglia and Somerville, this volume) a single nitroreductase enzyme is responsible for all three reactions and there is little or no accumulation of the intermediates. However, reduction of nitro compounds does not seem to be the physiological function of the enzymes that have been reported to carry out these reactions. Diaphorases (23), ferredoxin-NADPH reductase (33), and a variety of other enzymes from procaryotes and eucaryotes have been shown to catalyze the fortuitous reduction of aromatic nitro groups. 

An example of the product distribution during hydrogenation is shown in Fig. 2.39. The main difference between hydrogenation of aromatic nitro and nitroso goups is that the nitroso group reacts rapidly with intermediate hydroxylamine to form side products (see Fig. 2.31), so their concentrations must be kept low to avoid this reaction.294... 

The mechanism of the global 4-electron electrochemical reduction of aromatic nitro compounds to hydroxylamines in aqueous medium shown in reaction 37 was investigated by polarography and cyclic voltametry. The nitro group is converted first to a dihy-droxylamine, that on dehydration yields a nitroso group the latter is further reduced to a... 

Samarium(II) iodide smoothly reduces primary, secondaryand tertiary aliphatic as well as aromatic nitro compounds to hydroxylamines (equation 52). This reaction was found to be highly versatile although with limited scalability, since at least four equivalents of Sml2 are necessary. Most functional groups, except aldehydes and sulfones, are compatible with Sml2 reduction (equation 53). 

Nitro compounds are versatile synthetic intermediates which have found widespread utility in industrial applications. Aromatic nitro compounds are the usual starting materials for commercial applications, but aliphatic compounds exhibit a greater diversity of chemical behavior under reducing conditions. " Nitroso compounds, hydroxylamines, oximes, amines, nitrones, ketones and silyl nitronates are frequently encountered during the reduction of nitro compounds. Several specialized reviews have appeared which highlight the versatility of the nitro group in organic chemistry. ... 

Aromatic nitro compounds may generally be reduced in a four-electron reduction to hydroxylamines, which in acid solution at a more negative potential can be reduced further to amines. By choosing a suitable cathode potential it is thus possible to avoid the further reduction of the hydroxylamine to the amine. When a hydroxyl or amino group is ortho or para to the nitro group, it is not feasible to isolate the hydroxylamino compound, as it is too easily dehydrated to the reducible quinone mono- or diimine. It may, however, be possible to trap the intermediate. 

Aromatic hydroxylamines are frequently produced during the hydrogenation of aryl nitro groups. Generally, these are undesired intermediates because when they are present in excessive amounts, a potentially explosive situation caused by the exothermic disproportionation of the hydroxylamine can result. 2 This is usually not a problem, but care should be exercised to prevent the accumulation of large amounts of the hydroxylamine, particularly when the... 

Amination of aromatic nitro compounds often occurs smoothly and directly also on condensation with hydroxylamine in alkaline solution, the amino group normally entering ortho or para to the nitro group. One nitro group activates naphthalene derivatives sufficiently, but in the benzene series two are necessary to induce this reaction. 2-Nitro-l-naphthylamine was thus obtained (80%) from 2-nitronaphthalene,400 and 4-nitro-l-naphthyl-amine (60%) from 1-nitronaphthylamine.401 The amino group also enters the nitrated ring of quinoline derivatives. 

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