Naphthol, reaction with ammonia

Evidence for this mechanism was the isolation of 12 and the demonstrati on that for P-naphthol treated with ammonia and HSO3, the rate of the reaction depends only on the substrate and on HS03 , indicating that ammonia is not involved in the rate-determining step. If the starting compound is a P-naphthol,... 

The first step in either direction consists of addition of NaHSO-, to one of the double bonds of the ring, which gives an enol (or enamine) that tautomerizes to the keto (or imine) form. The conversion of 10 to 11 (or vice versa) is an example of 6-14 (or 6-2). Evidence for this mechanism was the isolation of 10 " and the demonstration that for p-naphthol treated with ammonia and HSOj. the rate of the reaction depends only on the substrate and on HSOi. indicating that ammonia is not involved in the rate-determining step.112 If the starting compound is a (i-naphthol, the intermediate is a 2-keto-4-suIfonic acid compound, so the sulfur of the bisulfite in either case attacks meta to the OH or NH2-m... 

The direct replacement of the hydroxyl group in simple phenols by an amino or substituted amino group requires drastic conditions and the method is not suitable for laboratory preparations. With the polyhydric phenols, and more particularly with the naphthols, such replacements occur more readily. Thus 2-naphthol is converted into 2-naphthylamine by heating with ammoniacal ammonium sulphite solution at 150°C in an autoclave. The reaction (the Bucherer reaction) depends upon the addition of the hydrogen sulphite ion to the keto form of the naphthol and the subsequent reaction with ammonia. 

Naphthols and the corresponding naphthylamines are interconvertible in aqueous media containing sulphite or bisulphite ion at elevated temperatures . Thus naphthols may be converted to naphthylamines by reaction with ammonia and ammonium sulphite in aqueous solution, usually in the temperature range 90-150 the corresponding dinaphthylamine is sometimes obtained as a byproduct (reaction 15). Monoalkylamines and dialkylamines similarly... 

The reaction of naphthols with ammonia and sodium bisulfite is called the Bucherer reaction. Primary amines can be used instead of ammonia, in which case N-substituted naphthylamines are obtained. In addition, primary naphthylamines can be converted to secondary, by a transamination reaction ... 

Similar to the reaction of 2-benzopyrylium salts with ammonia (Section III,C,4,a,i), an excess of competing nucleophiles in reactions with secondary amines is undesirable. Thus, the interactions of l-ethyl-3-methyl-substituted salt 183 with 40% aqueous solution of dimethylamine leads to a-naphthol 189 as the major product (79TH1). 

Amination. Very few reactions of general scope exist for the direct conversion of alcohols to amines. Among one of the oldest is the Bucherer reaction which is used to convert naphthols (40) and phenols (41) to their amine derivative by reaction with aqueous sodium bisulphite and ammonia (Reaction XXV). 

The proton transfer reaction has been also studied in rare gas matrices, showing some discrepancies with the gas phase (Brucker and Kelley 1989a,b Crepin and Tramer 1991) in 1- and 2-naphthol with ammonia, the AH B — A -HB + transition takes place for AH (NH3) /Ar matrix-embedded clusters with n > 3 (Brucker and Kelley 1989a,b). 

In the reaction of 1-naphthoxide ions, a mixture of 2- and 4-aryl-, along with 2,4-diaryl-l-naphthol, is formed. However, substitution occurs only at C4 with the 2-Me-substituted anion (50-70% yields) [1[. On the other hand, 2-naphthoxide ions react with ArX to give substitution only at Cj of the naphthalene ring [32, 33]. The reactivity of the 2-naphthoxide ions allows the synthesis of naphthylpyridines, naphthylquinolines, and naphthylisoquinolines via their coupling reactions with the corresponding halo arenes, in good to excellent yields (50-95%) [33], The photostimulated reaction between 2-naphthoxide ions and l-iodo-2-methoxy-naphthalene was explored in liquid ammonia, as a novel approach to the synthesis of [1,1 ] binaphthalenyl-2,2 -diol (BINOL) derivatives (Scheme 10.23). This procedure has also been applied to the synthesis of BINOL in moderate yield (40%), which represents the first report of an SRN1 reaction in water [34]. 

Naphthols as well as naphthylamines are converted to labile intermediate compounds by the action of bisulfite. These intermediates were considered to be sulfurous acid esters of naphthols (Formula I) by Bucherer, the discoverer of the reaction, but Woroshtzow formulated them as addition products of bisulfite with the keto forms of the naphthols (Formula II). These intermediates yield the corresponding naphthylamines with ammonia, and are hydrolyzed to the naphthols by caustic allrali. Thus, it is possible to convert naphthok into naphthylamines (pages 200 and 203), as well as naphthylamines into naphthols. ... 

The Bucherer method has completely replaced the older procedure of heating the naphthol with ammonia. This process gave only about a 70 per cent yield at pressures of 50 to 60 atmospheres. The Bucherer reaction was discussed in more detail on page 182. 

The naphthylamines may be prepared by reduction of the corresponding nitro compound, but they are readily accessible from naphthois by the Bucherer reaction The naphthol is heated, preferably under pressure in an autoclave, with ammonia and aqueous sodium hydrogen sulfite solution, when an addition-elimination sequence occurs. The detailed mechanism is not completely elucidated, but the Bucherer reaction is restricted to those phenols that show a tendency to tautomerize to the keto form, such as the naphthois and 1,3-dihydroxybenzene (resorcinol). Using 1-naphthol for illustration, the first step is addition of the hydrosulfite across the 3,4-double bond of either the enol or keto tautomer (Scheme 12.9). Nucleophilic attack by ammonia at the carbonyl group... 

The (x-substituted naphthalenes, like substituted benzenes, are ihpst commonly prepared by a sequence of reactions that ultimately goes back to a nitro compound (Sec. 30.8). Preparation of / -substituted naphthalenes, on the other hand, cannot start with the nitro compound, since nitration does not take place in the j3-position. The route to /3-naphthylamine, and through it to the versatile dia-zonium salts, lies through /9-naphthol. /9-Naphthol is made from the /3-sulfonic acid it is converted into /8-naphthylamine when heated under pressure with ammonia and ammonium sulfite (the Bucherer reaction, not useful in the benzene series except in rare cases). 

Other classes of reactions that have received much attention are proton transfer and electron transfer reactions. These processes can often be initiated by light. This characteristic has made it possible to monitor their time evolution by ultrafast pump-probe techniques. An example is the acid-base reaction of 1-naphthol with ammonia. On the ground electronic surface... 

Scheme 835. A possible path for the amiaolysis of P-naphthol (the Bucherer reaction or the Budierer-LePetit reaction). It is suggested that bisulfite adds to the aromatic ring, the phenolic hydroxyl tautomerizes, an addition reaction of ammonia to the carbonyl carbon occurs with loss of water, and, finally, the imine so generated tautomerizes, bisulfite is lost, and the aminonaphthalene is produced.

Figure 7.6 Proton-transfer reaction between 1-naphthol and ammonia with helium as carrier gas. Transients recorded in pump-probe experiments on the proton-transfer reaction between 1-naphthol (ROH) and ammonia (B) in clusters ROH.. B with n = 0 to 6. From Figure 7 of Ref. [6,a].

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