Nucleophilic Aryl Substitutions

Meisenheimer complex (Section 16.7) an intermediate formed in the nucleophilic aryl substitution reaction of a base with a nitro-substituted aromatic ring. 

Both the addition step and the elimination step can afTect the overall rate of a nucleophilic aryl substitution reaction, but the first step is generally rate-limiting. Thus, any factor that makes the eaihonyl group more easily attacked by a nucleophile favura the reacdon. 

The generally accepted mechanism for nucleophilic aromatic substitution m nitro substituted aryl halides illustrated for the reaction of p fluoromtrobenzene with sodium methoxide is outlined m Figure 23 3 It is a two step addition-elimination mechanism, m which addition of the nucleophile to the aryl halide is followed by elimination of the halide leaving group Figure 23 4 shows the structure of the key intermediate The mech anism is consistent with the following experimental observations... 

The most common types of aryl halides m nucleophilic aromatic substitutions are those that bear o ox p nitro substituents Among other classes of reactive aryl halides a few merit special consideration One class includes highly fluormated aromatic compounds such as hexafluorobenzene which undergoes substitution of one of its fluorines on reac tion with nucleophiles such as sodium methoxide... 

Other aryl halides that give stabilized anions can undergo nucleophilic aromatic substitution by the addition-elimination mechanism Two exam pies are hexafluorobenzene and 2 chloropyridme... 

The reaction between an alkoxide ion and an aryl halide can be used to prepare alkyl aryl ethers only when the aryl halide is one that reacts rapidly by the addition-elim mation mechanism of nucleophilic aromatic substitution (Section 23 6)... 

There are several mechanisms by which net nucleophilic aromatic substitution can occur. In this section we will discuss the addition-elimination mechanism and the elimination-addition mechanism. Substitutions via organometallic intermediates and via aryl diazo-nium ions will be considered in Chapter 11 of Part B. 

Elimination-addition mechanism (Section 23.8) Two-stage mechanism for nucleophilic aromatic substitution. In the first stage, an aryl halide undergoes elimination to form an aryne intermediate. In the second stage, nucleophilic addition to the aryne yields the product of the reaction. 

As we ve seen, aromatic substitution reactions usually occur by an electrophilic mechanism. Aryl halides that have electron-withdrawing substituents, however, can also undergo nucleophilic aromatic substitution. For example. 2,4,6-trinitrochlorobenzene reacts with aqueous NaOH at room temperature to give 2,4,6-trinitrophenol. The nucleophile OH- has substituted for Cl-. 

Nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction (Section 16.7) The substitution reaction of an aryl halide by a nucleophile. 

Ru—C(carbene) bond distances are shorter than Ru—P bond lengths, but this can simply be explained by the difference in covalent radii between P and The variation of Ru—C(carbene) bond distances among ruthenium carbene complexes illustrates that nucleophilic carbene ligands are better donors when alkyl, instead of aryl, groups are present, with the exception of 6. This anomaly can be explained on the basis of large steric demands of the adamantyl groups on the imidazole framework which hinder the carbene lone pair overlap with metal orbitals. Comparison of the Ru—C(carbene) bond distances among the aryl-substituted carbenes show... 

The ease of dehalogenation of C H X by Ni(ll)/ IMes HCl 1/NaO Pr decreased in the order 1 > Br > Cl F. Subsequent work showed that a 1 1 combination of Ni and NHC in the presence of NaOCHEt resulted in enhanced reactivity towards aryl fluorides [6], Again, the A-mesityl substituted ligand IMes HCl 1 imparted the highest level of catalytic activity. Table 8.2 illustrates that hydrodefluorination is sensitive to both the nature of the substituents on the aromatic ring and the specific regioisomer. Thus, 2- or 4-fluorotoluene (Table 8.2, entry 2) proceeded to only 30% conversion after 15 h, whereas quantitative conversion of 2-fluoroanisole (Table 8.2, entry 3) and high conversion of 3-fluoropyridine (Table 8.2, entry 5) was achieved in only 2-3.5 h. The reactivity of 2-fluoropyridine was compromised by more efficient nucleophilic aromatic substitution. 

Most thiirene dioxides (and oxides) have been prepared through a modified Ramberg-Backlund reaction as the last crucial cyclization step, as illustrated in equation 40 for the benzylic series . Synthesis of thiirene dioxides requires two major modifications of the originally employed reaction first, the inorganic base has to be replaced by the less basic and less nucleophilic triethylamine - and second, the aqueous media has to be substituted by an aprotic organic solvent (e.g. methylene chloride). Under these mild reaction conditions the isolation of aryl-substituted thiirene dioxides (and oxides) is feasible . In fact, this is the most convenient way for the preparation of the aryl-disubstituted three-membered ring sulfones and sulfoxides. ... 

The first widely used intermediates for nucleophilic aromatic substitution were the aryl diazonium salts. Aryl diazonium ions are usually prepared by reaction of an aniline with nitrous acid, which is generated in situ from a nitrite salt.81 Unlike aliphatic diazonium ions, which decompose very rapidly to molecular nitrogen and a carbocation (see Part A, Section 4.1.5), aryl diazonium ions are stable enough to exist in solution at room temperature and below. They can also be isolated as salts with nonnucleophilic anions, such as tetrafluoroborate or trifluoroacetate.82 Salts prepared with 0-benzenedisulfonimidate also appear to have potential for synthetic application.83... 

Aubele et al. studied the aqueous Prins cyclization using cyclic unsaturated acetals as oxocarbenium ion progenitors and allylsilanes are used as nucleophiles. Cyclizations proceed efficiently inside Lewis acidic micelles (of cerium salt) in water. A variety of vinyl- and aryl-substituted tetrahydropyrans with excellent stereocontrol was obtained (Eq. 3.26).113... 

A mild and efficient a-heteroarylation of simple esters and amides via nucleophilic aromatic substitution has been described <06OL1447>. Treatment of 2-chloro-benzo[//Jthiazole 99 with tert-butyl propionate in the presence of NaHMDS under nitrogen furnishes tert-butyl 2-(benzo[c(jthiazol-2-yl)propanoate 100. When the same reaction is preformed initially under nitrogen and then exposed to air, the hydroxylation product 101 is obtained. This method offers two desirable features that are either complementary or improvements to the palladium-catalyzed a-arylation reactions. First, heteroaryl chlorides... 

In general, the syntheses of these complexes are achieved through (i) nucleophilic addition/substitution reactions of silver(i) fluoride or (ii) transmetallation reactions with other metal alkyl, alkenyl, and aryl complexes. 

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