Nucleophilic aromatic substitution general discussion

In general, the more nitro groups present on the aromatic ring the easier the leaving group displacement. Nucleophilic aromatic substitution is therefore a very important reaction in the chemistry of polynitroarylenes. While the use of such reactions has been extensive in the synthesis of explosives, the reaction also has important implications for the chemical stability of many polynitroarylenes (discussed in Section 4.8.2). 

In the following discussion, reactions of each perfluoroaromatic heterocyclic system are discussed in turn after a more general description of the mechanism of nucleophilic aromatic substitution that underpins the majority of the chemistry presented here. 

This chapter has been limited almost completely to a discussion of some selected aspects of nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions. Nevertheless, the material presented has pertinence to a far broader area of physical organic chemistry. The questions raised, the experimental methods used and the criteria of mechanism invoked all have considerable generality. 

Since 1985, a major effort has been devoted to incorporating heterocyclic units within the backbone of poly(arylene etherjs (PAE). Heterocyclic units within PAE generally improve certain properties such as strength, modulus and the glass transition temperature. Nucleophilic and electrophilic aromatic substitution have been successfully used to prepare a variety of PAE containing heteorcyclic units. Many different heterocyclic families have been incorporated within PAE The synthetic approaches and the chemistry, mechanical and physical properties of PAE containing different families of heterocyclic units are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the effect variations in chemical structure (composition) have upon polymer properties. 

This chapter describes in general terms the types of reactivity found in the typical six- and five-membered aromatic heterocycles. We discuss electrophilic addition (to nitrogen) and electrophilic, nucleophilic and radical substitution chemistry. This chapter also has discussion of orf/to-quinodimethanes, in the heterocyclic context. Organometallic derivatives of heterocycles, and transition metal (especially palladium)-catalysed chemistry of heterocycles, are so important that we deal with these aspects separately, in Chapter 4. Emphasis on the typical chemistry of individual heterocyclic systems is to be found in the summary chapters (7, 10, 13, 15, 19 and 23), and a more detailed examination of typical heterocyclic reactivity and many more examples for particular heterocyclic systems are to be found in the chapters - Pyridines Reactions and Synthesis , etc. 

All the reactions discussed in this review are aromatic nucleophilic substitutions in the ordinary sense. These reactions are briefiy described in the following sections with respect to their general kinetic features and mainly involve aza-activated six-membered ring systems, although a few studies of other heteroaromatic compounds are also available. 

Synthetically important substitutions of aromatic compounds can also be done by nucleophilic reagents. There are several general mechanism for substitution by nucleophiles. Unlike nucleophilic substitution at saturated carbon, aromatic nucleophilic substitution does not occur by a single-step mechanism. The broad mechanistic classes that can be recognized include addition-elimination, elimination-addition, and metal-catalyzed processes. (See Section 9.5 of Part A to review these mechanisms.) We first discuss diazonium ions, which can react by several mechanisms. Depending on the substitution pattern, aryl halides can react by either addition-elimination or elimination-addition. Aryl halides and sulfonates also react with nucleophiles by metal-catalyzed mechanisms and these are discussed in Section 11.3. 

Abstract Synthesis methods of various C- and /V-nitroderivativcs of five-membered azoles - pyrazoles, imidazoles, 1,2,3-triazoles, 1,2,4-triazoles, oxazoles, oxadiazoles, isoxazoles, thiazoles, thiadiazoles, isothiazoles, selenazoles and tetrazoles - are summarized and critically discussed. The special attention focuses on the nitration reaction of azoles with nitric acid or sulfuric-nitric acid mixture, one of the main synthetic routes to nitroazoles. The nitration reactions with such nitrating agents as acetylnitrate, nitric acid/trifluoroacetic anhydride, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen tetrox-ide, nitronium tetrafluoroborate, V-nitropicolinium tetrafluoroborate are reported. General information on the theory of electrophilic nitration of aromatic compounds is included in the chapter covering synthetic methods. The kinetics and mechanisms of nitration of five-membered azoles are considered. The nitroazole preparation from different cyclic systems or from aminoazoles or based on heterocyclization is the subject of wide speculation. The particular section is devoted to the chemistry of extraordinary class of nitroazoles - polynitroazoles. Vicarious nucleophilic substitution (VNS) reaction in nitroazoles is reviewed in detail. 

The Skv I radical chain mechanism lor nucleophilic substitution [I70. as illustrated generally in eqs (2.64a-c), has been absent from our discussions. This mechanism has been shown to occur itt malty displacement reactions of leaving groups front both aromatic and aliphatic substrates. I low ever, in most of the aliphatic eases the substrates have a nitro or nilrophcnyl group (or other effective electron acceptor) in the a-position to the leaving group. The combination of I he nucleophile with the radical from the substrate must also lot m a relatively stable radical-anion in step 2.6lb. which is capable of propagating the chain... 

The most widely used approach to the preparation of PESs in both academic research and technical production is a polycondensation process involving a nucleophilic substitution of an aromatic chloro- or fluorosulfone by a phenoxide ion (Eq. (3)). Prior to the review of new PESs prepared by nucleophilic substitution publications should be mentioned which were concerned with the evaluation and comparison of the electrophilic reactivity of various mono- and difunctional fluoro-aromats [7-10]. The nucleophilic substitution of aromatic compounds may in general proceed via four different mechanism. Firstly, the Sni mechanism which is, for instance, characteristic for most diazonium salts. Secondly, the elimination-addition mechanism involving arines as intermediates which is typical for the treatment of haloaromats with strong bases at high temperature. Thirdly, the addition-elimination mechanism which is typical for fluorosulfones as illustrated in equations (3) and (4). Fourthly, the Snar mechanism which may occur when poorly electrophilic chloroaromats are used as reaction partners will be discussed below in connection with polycondensations of chlorobenzophenones. 

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