Nitrous acid preparation

Nitrosation of phenolic substrates usually uses nitrous acid prepared in situ from a dilute mineral acid and an alkali metal nitrite. In general, for every phenolic group present in a substrate an equal number of nitroso groups can be introduced into the aromatic ring phenol, resorcinol and phloroglucinol react with nitrous acid to form 4-nitrosophenol, 2,4-dinitrosoresorcinol and 2,4,6-trinitrosophloroglucinol respectively. 

DL-Threose was prepared19 from DL-threonic acid (10) in a slightly modified way. Benzoylation of 10 yielded 2,3-di-O-benzoyl-DL-threono-1,4-lactone (lib), instead of the desired 2,3,4-tri-O-benzoyl-DL-threonic acid. When DL-threonamide (15a) was used19 as the substrate, the 2,3,4-tri-O-benzoyl derivative 15b could be readily prepared. Deamination of 15b with nitrous acid, preparation of the acid chloride, and Rosenmund reduction of the latter, followed by deben-zoylation of the product, afforded DL-threose in good yield. 

Exercise 23-29 Predict the products expected from the reactions of the following amines with nitrous acid (prepared from NaN02 + HCI in aqueous solution) ... 

Nitric acid is generated by the action of sulfuric acid on sodium nitrate. Nitrous acid is prepared by the action of hydrochloric acid on sodium nitrite. Why is nitrous acid prepared in situ, rather than obtained from the reagent shelf ... 

Bis-(2-pyridyl)pyridines. An aq. soln. of excess nitrous acid prepared by adding 10%-H2SO4 at 0° to aq. NaNO, covered with ether, 2,6-bis-(2-pyridyl)-3,5-dicarbethoxy-l,4-dihydropyridine added to the upper layer, and allowed to stand overnight at room temp. 2,6-bis-(2-pyridyi)-3,5-dicarbethoxypyridine. Y 80%. F. 2,6-bis-(2-pyridyl)pyridines s. F. H. Case and W. A. Butlc, J. Org. Chem. 26, 4415 (1961). 

It is prepared by an intramolecular transformation of diazoaminobenzene in the presence of aniline hydrochloride, or in one stage by diazotizing a solution of aniline and aniline hydrochloride with an insufficient amount of nitrous acid. 

Usually prepared from the corresponding sulphonic acids by alkali fusion, methylation of phenol or from the aminotoluene by treatment with nitrous acid followed by boiling. Both o- and p-cresol are used as end components in azo dyes. 

M.p. —80°C, b.p. 37°C. Prepared from sodium azide and acid or (N2Hj) plus nitrous acid, HNO2. Heavy-metal salts, azides, are used as detonators, alkali metal salts are stable and azides are used synthetically in organic chemistry. 

It reduces to 4-aminodimethylaniline and gives dimethylamine with hot sodium hydroxide solution. It is prepared by the action of nitrous acid upon dimethylaniline at 0 C. 

H—N—N=N. It is prepared by the oxidation of hydrazine in strongly acid solution the oxidising agent used is usually nitrous acid (i.e. sodium nitrite is added to the acid solution of hydrazine) ... 

In preparing an aqueous sol ution of a diazonium salt, such as benzene-diazonium chloride, it is usual to dissolve the amine in a slight excess (about 2 2 molecular equivalents) of dilute hydrochloric acid (or alternatively to dissolve the crystalline amine hydrochloride in i 2 equivalents of the acid) and then add an aqueous solution of a metallic nitrite. Nitrous acid is thus generated in situ, and reacts with the amine salt to give the diazonium compound. For a successful preparation of an aqueous solution of the diazonium salt, however, two conditions must always be observed ... 

It is important in this preparation to avoid an excess of nitrous acid before coupling occurs, otherwise the excess of nitrous acid will react directly with the dimethylaniline, and the deep green p-nitrosodimethylaniline so formed will contaminate the methyl-orange. 

In the present preparation, ethyl acetoacetate is treated with sufficient nitrous acid to convert half into the a-nitroso (or a-oximino) ester, which is reduced by zinc and acetic acid to the a-amino ester (I). The latter then condenses with... 

Secondary and tertiary amines are not generally prepared in the laboratory. On the technical scale methylaniline is prepared by heating a mixture of aniline hydrochloride (55 parts) and methyl alcohol (16 parts) at 120° in an autoclave. For dimethylaniline, aniline and methyl alcohol are mixed in the proportion of 80 78, 8 parts of concentrated sulphuric acid are added and the mixture heated in an autoclave at 230-235° and a pressure of 25-30 atmospheres. Ethyl- and diethyl-anihne are prepared similarly. One method of isolating pure methyl- or ethyl-aniline from the commercial product consists in converting it into the Y-nitroso derivative with nitrous acid, followed by reduction of the nitroso compound with tin and hydrochloric acid ... 

The experimental conditions necessary for the preparation of a solution of a diazonium salt, diazotisation of a primary amine, are as follows. The amine is dissolved in a suitable volume of water containing 2 5-3 equivalents of hydrochloric acid (or of sulphuric acid) by the application of heat if necessary, and the solution is cooled in ice when the amine hydrochloride (or sulphate) usually crystallises. The temperature is maintained at 0-5°, an aqueous solution of sodium nitrite is added portion-wise until, after allowing 3-4 minutes for reaction, the solution gives an immediate positive test for excess of nitrous acid with an external indicator—moist potassium iodide - starch paper f ... 

To prepare the solid phenyldlazonlum chloride or sulphate, the reaction is conducted in the absence of water as far as possible. Thus the source of nitrous acid is one of its organic esters (e.g., amyl nitrite) and a solution of hydrogen chloride gas in absolute alcohol upon the addition of ether only the diazonium salt is precipitated as a crystalline solid, for example ... 

It is advisable to add the sodium nitrite solution, particularly in preparations on a larger scale, through a separatory or dropping funnel with the tip of the stem extending well below the sui-face of the liquid tliis will prevent loss of nitrous acid by surface decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. 

Make a thin paste of 21 5 g. of finely-powdered o-tolidine (a commercial product) with 300 ml. of water in a 1-litre beaker, add 25 g. (21 ml.) of concentrated hydrochloric acid, and warm until dissolved. Cool the solution to 10° with ice, stir mechanically, and add a further 25 g. (21 ml.) of concentrated hydrochloric acid (1) partial separation of o tolidine dihydrochloride will occur. Add a solution of 15 g, of sodium nitrite in 30 ml. of water as rapidly as possible, but keep the temperature below 15° a slight excess of nitrous acid is not harmful in this preparation. Add the clear, orange tetrazonium solution to 175 ml. of 30 per cent, hypophosphorous acid (2), and allow the mixture to stand, loosely stoppered, at room temperature for 16-18 hours. Transfer to a separatory funnel, and remove the upper red oily layer. Extract the aqueous layer with 50 ml, of benzene. Dry the combined upper layer and benzene extract with anhydrous magnesium sulphate, and remove the benzene by distillation (compare Fig. II, 13, 4) from a Widmer or similar flask (Figs. II, 24, 3-5) heat in an oil bath to 150° to ensure the removal of the last traces of benzene. Distil the residue at ca. 3 mm. pressure and a temperature of 155°. Collect the 3 3 -dimethyldiphenyl as a pale yellow liquid at 114-115°/3 mm. raise the bath temperature to about 170° when the temperature of the thermometer in the flask commences to fall. The yield is 14 g. 

I) An alternative procedure is to cool the solution containing the sodium sul. phanilate and sodium nitrite in a bath of crushed ice to about 5° and then add 10-5 ml. of concentrated hydrochloric acid diluted with an equal volume of water slowly and with stirring the temperature must not be allowed to rise above 10 and an excess of nitrous acid should be present (the solution is tested after standing for 5 minutes). The subsequent stages in the preparation—addition of dimethyl-aniline solution, etc.—are as above. 

An alternative method of preparation involves the interaction of methylamine hydrochloride with urea to give methylurea, followed by interaction with nitrous acid as above ... 

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... 

Despite the fact that solutions of acetyl nitrate prepared from purified nitric acid contained no detectable nitrous acid, the sensitivity of the rates of nitration of very reactive compounds to nitrous acid demonstrated in this work is so great that concentrations of nitrous acid below the detectable level could produce considerable catalytic effects. However, because the concentration of nitrous acid in these solutions is unknown the possibility cannot absolutely be excluded that the special mechanism is nitration by a relatively unreactive electrophile. Whatever the nature of the supervenient reaction, it is clear that there is at least a dichotomy in the mechanism of nitration for very reactive compounds, and that, unless the contributions of the separate mechanisms can be distinguished, quantitative comparisons of reactivity are meaningless. 

A special problem arises in the preparation of secondary amines. These compounds are highly nucleophilic, and alkylation of an amine with alkyl halides cannot be expected to stop at any specifle stage. Secondary amides, however, can be monoalkylated and lydrolyzed or be reduced to secondary amines (p. 11 If.). In the elegant synthesis of phenyl- phrine an intermediate -hydroxy isocyanate (from a hydrazide and nitrous acid) cyclizes to pve an oxazolidinone which is monomethylated. Treatment with strong acid cleaves the cyclic irethan. 

Aryl diazonium ions prepared by nitrous acid diazotization of primary arylamines are substantially more stable than alkyl diazonium ions and are of enormous synthetic value Their use m the synthesis of substituted aromatic compounds is described m the following two sections... 

R—N=N Aryl diazonium 10ns are formed by treatment of primary aromatic amines with nitrous acid They are ex tremely useful in the preparation of aryl halides phenols and aryl cyanides... 

Nitrosyl chloride (178), nitrosyl chloride—hydrogen fluoride (NOF -3HF, NOF -6HF) (179), nitrous acid—hydrogen fluoride solutions (180,181), or nitrogen trioxide (prepared in situ from nitric oxide and oxygen) (27) can be used in place of sodium nitrite in the dia2oti2ation step. 

Sulfonic acid hydrazides, RSO2NHNH2, are prepared by the reaction of hydraziae and sulfonyl haUdes, generally the chloride RSO2CI. Some of these have commercial appHcations as blowiag agents. As is typical of hydrazides generally, these compounds react with nitrous acid to form azides (26), which decompose thermally to the very reactive, electron-deficient nitrenes (27). The chemistry of sulfonic acid hydrazides and their azides has been reviewed (87). 

The reactants are fed separately iato a stUl, from which the product is continuously removed by distillation (qv) (31). Isopropyl nitrate is a valuable engiae-starter fuel and can be used ia explosives (see Explosives and propellants) (32). The nitrite ester, isopropyl nitrite, can be prepared from the reaction of isopropyl alcohol and either nitrosyl chloride or nitrous acid at ambient temperature (33). The ester is used as a jet engine propellant (30). 

Attempted diazotization in dilute acid sometimes yields primary nitroso compounds. Reactions of 3- and 5-amino-1,2,4-thiadiazoles with sodium nitrite and acid give primary nitrosamines (e.g. 432->433) (65AHC(5)n9) which can be related to the secondary nitrosamines (434) prepared in the normal way. 1-Substituted 5-aminotetrazoles with nitrous acid give stable primary nitrosamines (435). Primary nitrosamines have been isolated in the imidazole series. 

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