Naphthalenes, formation

In the present estimation, a continuous dehydrogenation reactor in which decalin is supplied to the catalyst at various feed rates without internal refluxing is assumed. Here all the condensable products and unconverted decalin were removed from the reactor to the condensation part (see Figure 13.22). Now, the stationary rates of hydrogen generation (VH), naphthalene formation (VN), and evaporation of unconverted decalin (VD) are defined as the magnitudes per area of the catalyst layer (mol/m2h). All these rates are expressed from mass balance as follows . 

Figure 2. Total hydrogen uptake during the reaction divided bu the total weight of carbon in the coal. Hydrogen uptake was determined by quantitative GC analysis of naphthalene formation. Gas formation was neglected.

The theory of sublimation, t.e. the direct conversion from the vapour to the sohd state without the intermediate formation of the liquid state, has been discussed in Section 1,19. The number of compounds which can be purified by sublimation under normal pressure is comparatively small (these include naphthalene, anthracene, benzoic acid, hexachloroethane, camphor, and the quinones). The process does, in general, yield products of high purity, but considerable loss of product may occur. 

The sulphonation of toluene at 100-120° results in the formation of p-toluene-sulphonic acid as the chief product, accompanied by small amounts of the ortho and meta isomers these are easily removed by crystallisation in the presence of sodium chloride. Sulphonation of naphthalene at about 160° 3uelds largely the p-sulphonic acid at lower temperatures (0-60°) the a-siil-phonic acid is produced almost exclusively. 

Davies and Warren" found that when 1,4-dimethylnaphthalene was treated with nitric acid in acetic anhydride, and the mixture was quenched after 34 hr, a pale yellow solid with an ultraviolet spectrum similar to that of a-nitro-naphthalene was produced. However, if the mixture was allowed to stand for 5 days, the product was i-methyl-4 nitromethylnaphthalene, in agreement with earlier findings. Davies and Warren suggested that the intermediate was 1,4-dimethyl-5 nitronaphthalene, which underwent acid catalysed rearrangement to the final product. Robinson pointed out that this is improbable, and suggested an alternative structure (iv) for the intermediate, together with a scheme for its formation from an adduct (ill) (analogous to l above) and its subsequent decomposition to the observed product. 

The catalyst is prepared by the reaction of sodium metal with naphthalen( and results in the formation of a radical ion ... 

Aromatic radical anions, such as lithium naphthalene or sodium naphthalene, are efficient difunctional initiators (eqs. 6,7) (3,20,64). However, the necessity of using polar solvents for their formation and use limits their utility for diene polymerization, since the unique abiUty of lithium to provide high 1,4-polydiene microstmcture is lost in polar media (1,33,34,57,63,64). Consequentiy, a significant research challenge has been to discover a hydrocarbon-soluble dilithium initiator which would initiate the polymerization of styrene and diene monomers to form monomodal a, CO-dianionic polymers at rates which are faster or comparable to the rates of polymerization, ie, to form narrow molecular weight distribution polymers (61,65,66). 

Oxidation. Naphthalene may be oxidized direcdy to 1-naphthalenol (1-naphthol [90-15-3]) and 1,4-naphthoquinone, but yields are not good. Further oxidation beyond 1,4-naphthoquinone [130-15-4] results in the formation of ortho- h. h5 ic acid [88-99-3], which can be dehydrated to form phthaUc anhydride [85-44-9]. The vapor-phase reaction of naphthalene over a catalyst based on vanadium pentoxide is the commercial route used throughout the world. In the United States, the one phthaUc anhydride plant currently operating on naphthalene feedstock utilizes a fixed catalyst bed. The fiuid-bed process plants have all been shut down, and the preferred route used in the world is the fixed-bed process. 

The older methods have been replaced by methods which require less, if any, excess sulfuric acid. For example, sulfonation of naphthalene can be carried out in tetrachloroethane solution with the stoichiometric amount of sulfur trioxide at no greater than 30°C, followed by separation of the precipitated l-naphthalenesulfonic acid the filtrate can be reused as the solvent for the next batch (14). The purification of 1-naphthalenesulfonic acid by extraction or washing the cake with 2,6-dimethyl-4-heptanone (diisobutyl ketone) or a C-1—4 alcohol has been described (15,16). The selective insoluble salt formation of 1-naphthalenesulfonic acid in the sulfonation mixture with 2,3-dimethyl aniline has been patented (17). 

Naphthalene (qv) from coal tar continued to be the feedstock of choice ia both the United States and Germany until the late 1950s, when a shortage of naphthalene coupled with the availabihty of xylenes from a burgeoning petrochemical industry forced many companies to use o-xylene [95-47-6] (8). Air oxidation of 90% pure o-xylene to phthaUc anhydride was commercialized ia 1946 (9,10). An advantage of o-xylene is the theoretical yield to phthaUc anhydride of 1.395 kg/kg. With naphthalene, two of the ten carbon atoms are lost to carbon oxide formation and at most a 1.157-kg/kg yield is possible. Although both are suitable feedstocks, o-xylene is overwhelmingly favored. Coal-tar naphthalene is used ia some cases, eg, where it is readily available from coke operations ia steel mills (see Steel). Naphthalene can be produced by hydrodealkylation of substituted naphthalenes from refinery operations (8), but no refinery-produced napthalene is used as feedstock. Alkyl naphthalenes can be converted directiy to phthaUc anhydride, but at low yields (11,12). 

The addition product, C QHgNa, called naphthalenesodium or sodium naphthalene complex, may be regarded as a resonance hybrid. The ether is more than just a solvent that promotes the reaction. StabiUty of the complex depends on the presence of the ether, and sodium can be Hberated by evaporating the ether or by dilution using an indifferent solvent, such as ethyl ether. A number of ether-type solvents are effective in complex preparation, such as methyl ethyl ether, ethylene glycol dimethyl ether, dioxane, and THF. Trimethyl amine also promotes complex formation. This reaction proceeds with all alkah metals. Other aromatic compounds, eg, diphenyl, anthracene, and phenanthrene, also form sodium complexes (16,20). 

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as naphthalene, anthracene, and phenan-threne undergo electrophilic aromatic substitution and are generally more reactive than benzene. One reason is that the activation energy for formation of the c-complex is lower than for benzene because more of the initial resonance stabilization is retained in intermediates that have a fused benzene ring. 

Phthalic Acid. In the formation of phthalic acid by the oxidation of naphthalene with sulphuric acid, the mercuric, ul-... 

Condensation of the dianion of 1,2-dimercaptobenzene (380) with 1-chloro-8-nitronaphthalene (483) in DMF provided 45% of benzo[2,3]naphthalene [5,6,7-/j][l,4]dithiepin (484) and a small amount of its 5-oxide 485 (Eq. 44) (89JHC667). Though the structure of 485 was adequately determined (NMR studies, X-ray crystallography), its formation was not definitely explained. 

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