Protonation site of aniline

The Protonation Site of Aniline Revisited A Torture Test for Electron Correlation Methods... 

Proton affinity and protonation sites of aniline. Energetic behavior and density functional reactivity indices ... 

Subsequently, Fuentealba et al. studied the regional Fukui functions for different sites of aniline and some of its substituents (see Figure 22). Aniline may be protonated at the nitrogen atom of the amino group and also at the aromatic ring para to the NH2 substituent. The presence of other substituents may change... 

The effect of pH is rarely of use for pK measurement it is more often of use in identifying the site of protonation/deprotonation when several basic or acidic sites are present. Knowing the incremental substitutent effects Z of amino and ammonium groups on benzene ring shifts in aniline and in the anilinium ion (40), one can decide which of the nitrogen atoms is protonated in procaine hydrochloride (problem 24). 

Evaluation of the only appropriate Fukui function is required for investigating an intramolecular reaction, as local softness is merely scaling of Fukui function (as shown in Equation 12.7), and does not alter the intramolecular reactivity trend. For this type, one needs to evaluate the proper Fukui functions (/+ or / ) for the different potential sites of the substrate. For example, the Fukui function values for the C and O atoms of H2CO, shown above, predicts that O atom should be the preferred site for an electrophilic attack, whereas C atom will be open to a nucleophilic attack. Atomic Fukui function for electrophilic attack (fc ) for the ring carbon atoms has been used to study the directing ability of substituents in electrophilic substitution reaction of monosubstituted benzene [23]. In some cases, it was shown that relative electrophilicity (f+/f ) or nucleophilicity (/ /f+) indices provide better intramolecular reactivity trend [23]. For example, basicity of substituted anilines could be explained successfully using relative nucleophilicity index ( / /f 1) [23]. Note however that these parameters are not able to differentiate the preferred site of protonation in benzene derivatives, determined from the absolute proton affinities [24],... 

The first pH indicators studied possessed the acid-base site (phenol, aniline, or carboxylic acid) as an integral part of the fluorophore. Structurally, in the most general sense, pH sensitivity is due to a reconfiguration of the fluorophorets re-electron system that occurs on protonation. Consequently, the acid and the base forms often show absorption shifts and also, when the two forms fluoresce, emission shifts or at least, when only one form emits, a pH-dependent fluorescence intensity. This class of compounds has been reviewed 112 and the best structures have to be designed according to the medium probed and the technique used. After a short consideration of physiological pH indicators we will describe the main photophysical processes sensible to protonation. 

Kinetic results on the chlorination of aniline by A-chloro-3-methyl-2,6-diphenylpiperi-din-4-one (3) suggest that the protonated reagent is reactive and that the initial site of attack is at the amino nitrogen. The effects of substituents in the aniline have been analysed but product studies were not reported. Zinc bromide supported on acid-activated montmorillonite K-10 or mesoporous silica (100 A) has been demonstrated to be a fast, selective catalyst for the regioselective para-bromination of activated and mildly deactivated aromatics in hydrocarbon solvents at 25 °C. For example, bromobenzene yields around 90% of dibromobenzenes with an ortholpara ratio of 0.12. 

It is a well established fact that the preferred site of protonation of aniline in solution is the nitrogen atom, due to the higher stabilization upon solvatation of the N-protonated species with respect to the ring protonated ion (/). In the gas phase however, the situation is less clear, and the preferred site of protonation has been the subject of many experimental and theoretical studies. Based on proton transfer equilibria at 600 K and upon correlation of the proton affinities... 

Table I Computed total atomization energy at 0 K of aniline and proton affinities at 298 K for protonation at different sites. Proton affinities for N-protonation of aniline. All values are given in kcal/mol.

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