Nitro compounds From hydrocarbons

Figure 1. Derivation of Nitro Compounds from Hydrocarbons...

Hass (1) A process for making aliphatic nitro-compounds from aliphatic hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbon vapor, mixed with nitric acid vapor, is passed through a narrow tube at 420°C. Invented by H. B. Hass in 1933. 

Nitro compounds. Aliphatic nitro compounds are acidic. They are freed from alcohols or alkyl halides by standing for a day with concentrated sulphuric acid, then washed with water, dried with magnesium sulphate followed by calcium sulphate and distilled. The principal impurities are isomeric or homologous nitro compounds. In cases where the nitro compound was originally prepared by vapour phase nitration of the aliphatic hydrocarbon, fractional distillation should separate the nitro compound from the corresponding hydrocarbon. Fractional crystallisation is more effective than fractional distillation if the melting point of the compound is not too low. 

Place about 1 g. of the nitro-hydrocarbon in a boiling-tube and add 5 ml. of cone. HCl and several pieces of granulated tin. Warm the mixture and shake continuously to break up the oily drops of the nitro-compound. When all the oil has disappeared (about 3 minutes heating) pour off the liquid from any undissolved tin into a 100 ml. conical flask. Cool and add cautiously 30% aqueous NaOH solution until the precipitate formed redissolves to give a dark-coloured solution. Cool the latter thoroughly and shake well with about 15 ml. of ether. Separate the ethereal layer in a separating-funnel, wash with water and evaporate the ether in a basin on a previously heated water-bath in a fume-cupboard atoay from all flames. The residue is either... 

Alkali metal reduction is a widely employed method for the preparation of radicals derived from various classes of conjugated compounds such as hydrocarbons, heterocycles, nitro compounds, quinones, and nitriles. For... 

Acceptors of alkyl radicals are known to be very weak inhibitors of liquid-phase hydrocarbon oxidation because they compete with dioxygen, which reacts very rapidly with alkyl radicals. The situation dramatically changes in polymers where an alkyl radical acceptor effectively terminates the chains [3,49], The study of the inhibiting action of p-benzoquinone [50], nitroxyl radicals [51-53], and nitro compounds [54] in oxidizing PP showed that these alkyl radical acceptors effectively retard the oxidation of the solid polymer at concentrations ( 10-3 mol L 1) at which they have no retarding effect on liquid hydrocarbon oxidation. It was proved from experiments on initiated PP oxidation at different p02 that these inhibitors terminate chains by the reaction with alkyl macroradicals. The general scheme of such inhibitors action on chain oxidation includes the following steps ... 

A reaction analogous to the formation of metal ketyls is the formation of negative ion-radicals not only from aromatic nitro compounds but also from aromatic hydrocarbons like naphthalene. These substances are highly colored and exhibit paramagnetic resonance absorption.128... 

On the basis of their findings they contend that the effect of almost any compound -hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, acids, amines, nitro-compounds, H20, H2S, S02, NH3 - can be co-catalytic or inhibitory, according to its concentration [66]. They extend quite unnecessarily the concept of co-catalyst to cover any substance which enhances the DP, and they thereby confuse and debase the originally perfectly precise meaning of the term co-catalyst a substance the presence of which is essential for the functioning of the catalyst [22, 71]. It follows of course from this definition that evidence on co-catalytic activity can be obtained only from rate measurements, and never from studies of DP. 

The same reaction can be applied, not only to the aromatic parent substances, the hydrocarbons, but also to all their derivatives, such as phenols, amines, aldehydes, acids, and so on. The nitration does not, however, always proceed with the same ease, and therefore the most favourable experimental conditions must be determined for each substance. If a substance is very easily nitrated it may be done with nitric acid sufficiently diluted with water, or else the substance to be nitrated is dissolved in a resistant solvent and is then treated with nitric acid. Glacial acetic acid is frequently used as the solvent. Substances which are less easily nitrated are dissolved in concentrated or fuming nitric acid. If the nitration proceeds with difficulty the elimination of water is facilitated by the addition of concentrated sulphuric acid to ordinary or fuming nitric acid. When nitration is carried out in sulphuric acid solution, potassium or sodium nitrate is sometimes used instead of nitric acid. The methods of nitration described may be still further modified in two ways 1, the temperature or, 2, the amount of nitric acid used, may be varied. Thus nitration can be carried out at the temperature of a freezing mixture, at that of ice, at that of cold water, at a gentle heat, or, finally, at the boiling point. Moreover, we can either employ an excess of nitric acid or the theoretical amount. Small scale preliminary experiments will indicate which of these numerous modifications may be expected to yield the best results. Since nitro-compounds are usually insoluble or sparingly soluble in water they can be precipitated from the nitration mixture by dilution with water. 

It has been recently described [55d) that aliphatic nitrile oxides can be formed in solution by treating an aliphatic a-nitro-hydrocarbon with phenylisocyanate in the presence of a catalytic amount of tri-ethylamine. Dehydration of the nitro compounds occurs with the con-committant formation of benzoylurea. From nitroethane, the reaction is formulated as follows ... 

The molecular ion peak (odd number) of aliphatic nitrites (one N present) is weak or absent. The peak at m/z 30 (NO+) is always large and is often the base peak. There is a large peak at m/z 60 (CH2=ONO) in all nitrites unbranched at the a carbon this represents cleavage of the C—C bond next to the ONO group. An a branch can be identified by a peak at m/z 74, 88, or 102,. Absence of a large peak at m/z 46 permits differentiation from nitro compounds. Hydrocarbon peaks are prominent, and their distribution and intensities describe the arrangement of the carbon chain. 

Many polycyclic aromatic amines and aldehydes are commercially available, but their supply is very limited. Preparation of these starting materials is necessary for studying the (3-lactam formation reaction [93]. Nitro compounds are the precursors for the amines. An important task was to prepare polycyclic aromatic nitro compounds, particularly those of chrysene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and dibenzofluorene in good yield. Nitration of these hydrocarbons with concentrated nitric acid in sulfuric acid is a widely used reaction for this purpose. Our research culminated in facile synthesis of polyaromatic nitro derivative 9 starting from polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) 8 through the use of bismuth nitrate impregnated with clay (Scheme 1) ([94, 95] for some examples of bismuth nitrate-catalyzed reactions... 

Solid trinitrotoluene (TNT) has been widely used as a military explosive. TNT is moderately to very toxic and has caused toxic hepatitis or aplastic anemia in exposed individuals, a few of whom have died from its toxic effects. It belongs to the general class of nitro compounds characterized by the presence of -N02 groups bonded to a hydrocarbon structure. 

Nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, referred to as nitro-aromatic compounds hereafter, constitute one of the most troubling classes of environmental pollutants. They are derivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that contain two or more fused aromatic rings made of carbon and hydrogen atoms and at least one nitro group (Fig. 10.1). Concern about these compounds arises partly from their ubiquity nitro-aromatic compounds are released to the environment directly from a variety of incomplete combustion processes [1] and are also formed in situ by atmospheric reactions of PAHs [2]. Nitro-aromatic compounds have been found in grilled food in diesel, gasoline, and wood-smoke emissions and are commonly found in atmospheric particulate matter, natural waters, and sediment [3-8],... 

In the electroreduction of aromatic hydrocarbons, nitro compounds, and quinones in aptotic solvents, the first step is the transfer of an electron from the electrode to form a radical anion. Once the radical anion is formed, electron repulsion will decrease the facility with which a second electron transfer occurs. But solvation and ion pairing diminish the effect of electron repulsion and tend to shift the reduction potential for the addition of the second electron to more... 

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