Partial rate factor, aryl radicals

The radical phenylation of a large number of mono- and dialkyl-thiazoles has been investigated (393,395,396,399-405, for a general review cf. 398) and analyzed in terms of partial rate factors. As in other instances the alkyl groups slightly activate the substrate in certain positions toward phenyl radicals, but they also induce some steric hindrance to the approach of the aryl radical from the onho positions (Fig. 1-19). 

Aryl radicals. Phenyl radicals attack azoles unselectively to form a mixture of phenylated products. Relative rates and partial rate factors are given in Table 8. The phenyl radicals can be prepared from PhN(NO) COMe, Pb(OCOPh)2, (PhC02)2, or PhI(OCOPh)2. 

The free radical arylation of thiazole (391) has been performed either by the Gomberg-Bachmann (392) decomposition of aryldiazonium chlorides (119,393), by the thermal decomposition of benzoyl peroxide (394-397) or N-nitrosoacetanilide (398), or by the photolysis of benzoyl peroxide or iodobenzene (398). The three monophenylthiazoles are obtained in the practically constant proportions 2-phenyl, 60% 5-phenyl, 30% 4-phenyl, 10%, giving the order, 2>5>4, of decreasing reactivity of the three positions of thiazole toward phenyl radicals (398). Competition reactions with nitrobenzene (397) gave an estimation of the globed reactivity of thiazole relative to benzene of 0.75 with the partial rate factors f2 = 2.2, /s=1.9, /4 = 0.5. When the thermolysis of benzoyl peroxide is performed in acetic acid solution, the substrate in reaction is the conjugate acid of thiazole the global reactivity is enhanced to 1.25,... 

The partial rate factors and the isomer distribution in the amination by di-methylamino radical cation of toluene, isopropylbenzene, -butylbenzene, biphenyl and naphtalene are reported in Table 7. These partial rate factors are far the highest ever observed in homolytic substitutions so that the general character of the homolytic amination allows a more relevant analogy to be drawn with the electrophilic substitutions than with the homol5rtic arylation, the only homol5rtic substitution for which numerous and accurate quantitative data exist in homo-cyclic aromatic series. 

The body of evidence from radical arylation of aromatics gives some support to such a scheme The question of the meaningfulness of the isomer ratios, and thence of the partial rate factors for these reactions, is tied up with that of the fate of the intermediate formed in the rate-determining step. The experimentally determined ratios clearly have no direct value as indices of positional reactivity if the a-complex suffers fates other than aroma-tization, and the relative reactivities of different aromatics will be obscured... 

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