Nitro group, addition phenolic compounds

It is reported that an industrial explosion was initiated by charging potassium hydroxide in place of potassium carbonate to the chloro-nitro compound in the sulfoxide [1], Dry potassium carbonate is a useful base for nucleophilic displacement of chlorine in such systems, reaction being controlled by addition of the nucleophile. The carbonate is not soluble in DMSO and possesses no significant nucleophilic activity itself. Hydroxides have, to create phenoxide salts as the first product. These are better nucleophiles than their progenitor, and also base-destabilised nitro compounds. Result heat and probable loss of control. As it nears its boiling point DMSO also becomes susceptible to exothermic breakdown, initially to methanethiol and formaldehyde. Methanethiolate is an even better nucleophile than a phenoxide and also a fairly proficient reducer of nitro-groups, while formaldehyde condenses with phenols under base catalysis in a reaction which has itself caused many an industrial runaway and explosion. There is thus a choice of routes to disaster. Industrial scale nucleophilic substitution on chloro-nitroaromatics has previously demonstrated considerable hazard in presence of water or hydroxide, even in solvents not themselves prone to exothermic decomposition [2],... 

The presence of nitro groups enhances the acidic properties of the phenol group. This is why the trinitro derivatives are also called acids, e.g. trinitrophenol is known as picric acid and trinitroresorcinol as styphnic acid. These compounds readily form salts with metals or bases. Polynitro derivatives of phenols also form addition compounds with hydrocarbons, e.g. naphthalene. 

A compound is nitrated which in addition to phenolic groups contains some other which inhibits the introduction of nitro groups and after the nitration becomes so mobile that it can readily be removed. A carboxylic group may serve the purpose. For example, by the nitration of resorcylic acid, dinitroresorcinol may be obtained as an end product (for more details see p. 537). 

EC is most often used in the analysis of catecholamines and aromatic amines, since these compounds are easily oxidized at low potentials (Table 1). However, most alkaloids also contain oxidizable functional groups, and are well suited for oxidative EC detection. Many contain either a phenol group or an indole nucleus, and even more contain a tertiary aliphatic amine. In addition, many aliphatic alcohols and amines, which are oxidized at high potentials on carbon electrodes, can be detected at much lower potentials with gold or platinum electrodes (Sect. 2.4). Alkaloids, however, do not usually contain easily reducible groups like quinones or aromatic nitro groups. 

The introduction of the nitro group into the phenol molecule leads to an increase in acidity and antimicrobial effectiveness, the latter being superior to most of the halophenols. However, the gain in activity is accompanied by an equal gain in toxicity. The yellow colour of nitrophenols is an additional handicap in the application of the compounds as microbicides for the protection of materials. In the meantime nitrophenols may be marked as old-line microbicides which are no longer of practical importance. 

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... 

During the second year of UG, simple one step organic synthesis (e.g. preparation of bromo or nitro derivative) and quantitative estimations based on specific reactions (e.g. estunation of phenol/aniline by bromination) are introduced along with qualitative analysis. The qualitative analysis is at micro-scale level and is more complex in UG second year, as compounds with multifunctional groups arc given for analysis. In addition to characterisation, students have to identify the compound by performing the confirmatory tests. 

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