Nitration via nitrosation

We are not concerned here with the mechanism of nitrosation, but with the anticatalytic effect of nitrous acid upon nitration, and with the way in which this is superseded with very reactive compounds by an indirect mechanism for nitration. The term nitrous acid indicates all the species in a solution which, after dilution with water, can be estimated as nitrous acid. 

In aqueous solutions of sulphuric ( 50%) and perchloric acid ( 45 %) nitrous acid is present predominantly in the molecular form, although some dehydration to dinitrogen trioxide does occur.In solutions contairdng more than 60 % and 65 % of perchloric and sulphuric acid respectively, the stoichiometric concentration of nitrous acid is present entirely as the nitrosonium ion (see the discussion of dinitrogen trioxide 4.1). Evidence for the formation of this ion comes from the occurrence of an absorption band in the Raman spectrum almost identical with the relevant absorption observed in crystalline nitrosonium perchlorate. Under conditions in which molecular nitrous 

In an excess of nitric acid, nitrous acid exists essentially as dinitrogen tetroxide which, in anhydrous nitric acid, is almost completely ionised. This is shown by measurements of electrical conductivity, and Raman and infra-red spectroscopy identify the ionic species 

In mixtures of nitric acid and organic solvents, nitrous acid exists mainly as un-ionised dinitrogen tetroxide. The heterolysis of dinitrogen tetroxide is thus complete in sulphuric acid ( 4 i), considerable in nitric acid, and very small in organic solvents. 

The condition of dinitrogen trioxide in acid solution is discussed in 4-i- 

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These systems nitrate aromatie eompounds by a proeess of electro-philie substitution, the eharacter of whieh is now understood in some detail ( 6.1). It should be noted, however, that some of them ean eause nitration and various other reactions by less well understood processes. Among sueh nitrations that of nitration via nitrosation is especially important when the aromatic substrate is a reactive one ( 4.3). In reaetion with lithium nitrate in aeetie anhydride, or with fuming nitrie aeid, quinoline gives a small yield of 3-nitroquinoline this untypieal orientation (ef. 10.4.2 ) may be a eonsequenee of nitration following nucleophilic addition. ... 

Nitration at the encounter rate and nitrosation As has been seen ( 3.3), the rate of nitration by solutions of nitric acid in nitromethane or sulpholan reaches a limit for activated compounds which is about 300 times the rate for benzene imder the same conditions. Under the conditions of first-order nitration (7-5 % aqueous sulpholan) mesitylene reacts at this limiting rate, and its nitration is not subject to catalysis by nitrous acid thus, mesitylene is nitrated by nitronium ions at the encounter rate, and under these conditions is not subject to nitration via nitrosation. The significance of nitration at the encounter rate for mechanistic studies has been discussed ( 2.5). 

Under the conditions mentioned, i-methylnaphthalene was nitrated appreciably faster than was mesitylene, and the nitration was strongly catalysed by nitrous acid. The mere fact of reaction at a rate greater than the encounter rate demonstrates the incursion of a new mechanism of nitration, and its characteristics identify it as nitration via nitrosation. 

The evidence outlined strongly suggests that nitration via nitrosation accompanies the general mechanism of nitration in these media in the reactions of very reactive compounds.i Proof that phenol, even in solutions prepared from pure nitric acid, underwent nitration by a special mechanism came from examining rates of reaction of phenol and mesi-tylene under zeroth-order conditions. The variation in the initial rates with the concentration of aromatic (fig. 5.2) shows that mesitylene (o-2-0 4 mol 1 ) reacts at the zeroth-order rate, whereas phenol is nitrated considerably faster by a process which is first order in the concentration of aromatic. It is noteworthy that in these solutions the concentration of nitrous acid was below the level of detection (< c. 5 X mol... 

EFFECT OF ADDED NITRATES ON THE RATE OF NITRATION via NITROSATION OF... 

Theobservation of nitration via nitrosation for mesitylene is important, for it shows that this reaction depends on the reactivity of the aromatic nucleus rather than on any special properties of phenols or anilines. 

Little is known quantitatively about substituent effects in the nitration of derivatives of azanaphthalenes. In preparative experiments 4-hydroxy-quinoline, -cinnoline, and -quinazoline give the 6- and 8-nitro compounds, but with nitric acid alone 4-hydroxyquinoline and 2,4-di-hydroxyquinoline react at C(3).31 With nitric acid, 4-hydroxycinnoline still gives mainly 4-hydroxy-6-nitrocinnoline, but some of the 3-nitro compound can also be isolated.81 51 The change of orientation with reagent could be due to a change to free-base nitration in the more weakly acidic medium, or to the occurrence in nitric acid of nitration via nitrosation.31... 

The profile is parallel to that of mesitylene and the rate is about half that for mesitylene under similar conditions. The product data are shown in Figure 6. The occurrence of nitration via nitrosation which has been shown to have complicated many previous studies of anisole was precluded. The results are remarkable the % 4-substitution increases over the range up to 82% H2S0i) and the % 2-substitution decreases correspondingly,... 

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