Phenanthrene aromatism

Benzene, toluene, anthracene, phenanthrene, biphenyl. Aromatic hydrocarbons with unsaturated side-chains. Styrene, stilbene. 

The purpose of this eornpuLer project is Lo examine several polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and to relate their electron density patterns to their carcinogenic activity. If nucleophilic binding to DN.A is a significant step in blocking the normal transcription process of DN.A, electron density in the hydrocarbon should be positively correlated to its carcinogenic potency. To begin with, we shall rely on clinical evidence that benzene, naphthalene, and phenanthrene... 

It is interesting to note that recent evidence shows that even extra-terrestrially formed hydrocarbons can reach the Earth. The Earth continues to receive some 40,000 tons of interplanetary dust every year. Mass-spectrometric analysis has revealed the presence of hydrocarbons attached to these dust particles, including polycyclic aromatics such as phenanthrene, chrysene, pyrene, benzopyrene, and pentacene of extraterrestrial origin indicated by anomalous isotopic ratios. 

Troost and Olavesen investigated the application of an internal standardization to the quantitative analysis of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. The following results were obtained for the analysis of the analyte phenanthrene using isotopically labeled phenanthrene as an internal standard... 

A further consequence of association of acylating agents with basic compounds is an increase in the bulk of the reagent, and greater resistance to attack at the more stericaHy hindered positions of aromatic compounds. Thus acylation of chrysene and phenanthrene in nitrobenzene or in carbon disulfide occurs to a considerable extent in an outer ring, whereas acylation of naphthalene leads to extensive reaction at the less reactive but stericaky less hindered 2-position. 

The addition product, C QHgNa, called naphthalenesodium or sodium naphthalene complex, may be regarded as a resonance hybrid. The ether is more than just a solvent that promotes the reaction. StabiUty of the complex depends on the presence of the ether, and sodium can be Hberated by evaporating the ether or by dilution using an indifferent solvent, such as ethyl ether. A number of ether-type solvents are effective in complex preparation, such as methyl ethyl ether, ethylene glycol dimethyl ether, dioxane, and THF. Trimethyl amine also promotes complex formation. This reaction proceeds with all alkah metals. Other aromatic compounds, eg, diphenyl, anthracene, and phenanthrene, also form sodium complexes (16,20). 

Among other aromatic compounds that have been tricyanovinylated are phenanthrene (23), o-alkylphenols (24), pyrrole (23), indoles (23,25), 2-meth5lfuran (26), azulenes (26,27), diazocyclopentadiene (28), and a variety of phenyUiydrazones (26). 

The high reactivity of azomethine ylides allows addition to aromatic systems (71TL481). For example, trans-aziridine (30) adds to phenanthrene to give the fran5-phenanthropyr-rolidine (31). The reversal of expected stereochemistry is again attributed to azomethine ylide interconversion being allowed by the low reactivity of the aromatic system. 

The synthetic procedure described is based on that reported earlier for the synthesis on a smaller scale of anthracene, benz[a]anthracene, chrysene, dibenz[a,c]anthracene, and phenanthrene in excellent yields from the corresponding quinones. Although reduction of quinones with HI and phosphorus was described in the older literature, relatively drastic conditions were employed and mixtures of polyhydrogenated derivatives were the principal products. The relatively milder experimental procedure employed herein appears generally applicable to the reduction of both ortho- and para-quinones directly to the fully aromatic polycyclic arenes. The method is apparently inapplicable to quinones having an olefinic bond, such as o-naphthoquinone, since an analogous reaction of the latter provides a product of undetermined structure (unpublished result). As shown previously, phenols and hydro-quinones, implicated as intermediates in the reduction of quinones by HI, can also be smoothly deoxygenated to fully aromatic polycyclic arenes under conditions similar to those described herein. 

This cyclization also gives good results in the case of derivatives of naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, and other aromatic substrates [76]... 

In the presence of certain ethers such as Me20, Me0CH2CH20Me or tetrahydrofuran, Na forms deep-green highly reactive paramagnetic adducts with polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons such as naphthalene, phenanthrene, anthracene, etc. ... 

The chloromethylation can be generally employed in aromatic chemistry benzene, naphthaline, anthracene, phenanthrene, biphenyls and many derivatives thereof are appropriate substrates. The benzylic chlorides thus obtained can be further transformed, for example to aromatic aldehydes. Ketones like benzophe-none are not reactive enough. In contrast phenols are so reactive that polymeric products are obtained. ... 

The reaction of ozone with an aromatic compound is considerably slower than the reaction with an alkene. Complete ozonolysis of one mole of benzene with workup under non-oxidative conditions will yield three moles of glyoxal. The selective ozonolysis of particular bonds in appropriate aromatic compounds is used in organic synthesis, for example in the synthesis of a substituted biphenyl 8 from phenanthrene 7 ... 

Another class of compounds is called condensed-ring or fused-ring systems. These structures contain two or more aromatic rings that share a pair of carbon atoms. Examples include naphthalene, anthracene, and phenanthrene, the latter two being isomeric structures. 

In another type of aromatic hydrocarbon, two or more benzene rings are fused together. Naphthalene is the simplest compound of this type. Fusion of three benzene rings gives two different isomers, anthracene and phenanthrene. 

Dihydro-9,10-epoxyphenanthrene and related arene oxides are of considerable interest as carcinogens formed by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in vivo.45 Phenanthrene oxide does not isomerize to the corresponding dibenzoxepin under thermal conditions. Photolysis of... 

Recently, Weissman and his colleagues52 showed that the product is paramagnetic indicating that it results from an electron transfer process giving one unpaired electron to the hydrocarbon ion. Furthermore, they demonstrated30 that electron transfer reactions easily proceed in systems containing aromatic" ions and neutral aromatic hydrocarbon molecules, e.g., naphthalene" + phenathrene - naphthalene -j- phenanthrene". 

Phenanthrene, anthracene, and other polynuclear aromatic compounds. 

Os04 will add to C=C bonds but will only attack the most reactive aromatic bonds thus benzene is inert, but it will attack the 9,10 bond in phenanthrene and will convert anthracene to 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroxytetra-hydroanthracene. It can be used catalytically in the presence of oxidizing agents such as NaC103 or H2O2 [53],... 

Blackley548 measured the rates of deuteration of biphenylene, fluorene, tri-phenylene, and phenanthrene relative to o-xylene as 6.15 5.85 1.08 1.32, which is in very good agreement with the values of 8.80 7.00 - 1.14 which may be deduced from the detritiation data in Table 159, obtained using anhydrous trifluoroacetic acid. Aqueous trifluoroacetic acid (with the addition in some cases of benzene to assist solubility) was used by Rice550, who found that triptycene was 0.1 times as reactive per aromatic ring as o-xylene (cf. 0.13 derivable from Table 159) whereas the compound (XXXI) was 0.9 times as reactive as o-xylene. An exactly comparable measure is not available from Table 158, but dihydroanthracene (XXXII), which is similar, was 0.51 times as reactive as o-xylene and... 

It is thought that the chlorination proceeds through a ir-com-plex between cupric chloride and anthracene, and that this complex then undergoes homolytic dissociation. Hence aromatic rings subject to attack by chlorine atoms can be chlorinated in this way. Thus one can convert pyrene to 1-chloropyrene (90% yield), but phenanthrene is not chlorinated. Analogous procedures using cupric bromide lead to 9-bromoanthracene (99% yield) and 1-bromopyrene (94% yield).7... 

Dihydrovinylphenanthrenes are more reactive than the corresponding vinyl phenanthrenes and undergo Diels-Alder reactions easily. They have been used in the synthesis of polycyclic aromatic compounds and helicenes. Examples of cycloaddition reactions of the 3,4-dihydro-1-vinylphenanthrene (70), [61] 3,4-dihydro-2-vinylphenanthrene (71) [68] and l,2-dihydro-4-vinylphenanthrene (72) [69] are reported in Equation 2.22 and Schemes 2.27 and 2.28. 

In fused ring systems, the positions are not equivalent and there is usually a preferred orientation even in the unsubstituted hydrocarbon. The preferred positions may often by predicted as for benzene rings. Thus it is possible to draw more canonical forms for the arenium ion when naphthalene is attacked at the a position than when it is attacked at the p position, and the a position is the preferred site of attack,though, as previously mentioned (p. 682), the isomer formed by substitution at the p position is thermodynamically more stable and is the product if the reaction is reversible and equilibrium is reached. Because of the more extensive delocalization of charges in the corresponding arenium ions, naphthalene is more reactive than benzene and substitution is faster at both positions. Similarly, anthracene, phenanthrene, and other fused polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are also substituted faster than benzene. 

The reaction has been applied to nonheterocyclic aromatic compounds Benzene, naphthalene, and phenanthrene have been alkylated with alkyllithium reagents, though the usual reaction with these reagents is 12-20, and Grignard reagents have been used to alkylate naphthalene. The addition-elimination mechanism apparently applies in these cases too. A protected form of benzaldehyde (protected as the benzyl imine) has been similarly alkylated at the ortho position with butyl-lithium. ... 

The latter reagent also methylates certain heterocyclic compounds (e.g., quinoline) and certain fused aromatic compounds (e.g., anthracene, phenanthrene). The reactions with the sulfur carbanions are especially useful, since none of these substrates can be methylated by the Friedel-Crafts procedure (11-12). It has been reported that aromatic nitro compounds can also be alkylated, not only with methyl but with other alkyl and substituted alkyl groups as well, in ortho and para positions, by treatment with an alkyllithium compound (or, with lower yields, a Grignard reagent), followed by an oxidizing agent such as Bra or DDQ (P- 1511). 

The scope extends to certain aromatic compounds such as phenanthrene. Besides those dienes and aromatic rings that can be photooxidized directly, there is a larger group that give the reaction in the presence of a photosensitizer such as eosin (see... 

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