Pyridine electrophilic substitution reactions

Electrophilic substitution reactions of unsubstituted quinoxaline or phenazine are unusual however, in view of the increased resonance possibilities in the transition states leading to the products one would predict that electrophilic substitution should be more facile than with pyrazine itself (c/. the relationship between pyridine and quinoline). In the case of quinoxaline, electron localization calculations (57JCS2521) indicate the highest electron density at positions 5 and 8 and substitution would be expected to occur at these positions. Nitration is only effected under forcing conditions, e.g. with concentrated nitric acid and oleum at 90 °C for 24 hours a 1.5% yield of 5-nitroquinoxaline (19) is obtained. The major product is 5,6-dinitroquinoxaline (20), formed in 24% yield. 

There is another important factor in the low reactivity of pyridine derivatives toward electrophilic substitution. The —N=CH— unit is basic because the electron pair on nitrogen is not part of the aromatic n system. The nitrogen is protonated or complexed with a Lewis acid under many of the conditions typical of electrophilic substitution reactions. The formal positive charge present at nitrogen in such species further reduces the reactivity toward electrophiles. 

In their acidity, basicity, and the directive influence exerted on electrophilic substitution reactions in benzenoid nuclei, acylamino groups show properties which are intermediate between those of free amino and hydroxyl groups, and, therefore, it is at first surprising to find that the tautomeric behavior of acylaminopyridines closely resembles that of the aminopyridines instead of being intermediate between that of the amino- and hydroxy-pyridines. The basicities of the acylaminopyridines are, indeed, closer to those of the methoxy-pyridines than to those of the aminopyridines, the position of the tautomeric equilibrium being determined by the fact that the acyl-iminopyridones are strong bases like the iminopyridones and unlike the pyridones themselves. Thus, relative to the conversion of an... 

The presently known electrophilic substitution reactions all occur at the 4-position of the isoxazole nucleus, corresponding to the j3-position in pyridine. Thus the influence of the nitrogen atom is predominant. The introduction of alkyl and, particularly, aryl substituents into the isoxazole nucleus markedly increases its reactivity (on the other hand, during nitration and sulfonation the isoxazole nucleus also activates the phenyl nucleus). 

Pyridine is converted into perfluoropiperidine (82) in low yield by reaction with fluorine in the presence of cobalt trifluoride (50JCS1966) quinoline affords (83) under similar conditions (56JCS783). Perfluoropiperidine can be obtained electrochemically. This is useful, as it may be readily aromatized to perfluoropyridine by passing it over iron or nickel at ca. 600 °C (74HC(14-S2)407). Recently, pyridine has been treated with xenon difluoride to yield 2-fluoropyridine (35%), 3-fluoropyridine (20%) and 2,6-difluoropyridine (11%), but it is not likely that this is simply an electrophilic substitution reaction (76MI20500). 

Electrophilic substitutions Pyridine s electron-withdrawing nitrogen causes the ring carbons to have significantly less electron density than the ring carbons of benzene. Thus, pyridine is less reactive than benzene towards electrophilic aromatic substitution. However, pyridine undergoes some electrophilic substitution reactions under drastic conditions, e.g. high temperature, and the yields of these reactions are usually quite low. The main substitution takes place at C-3. 

Carbon-based DMGs offer the potential for the regiospecific preparation of ortho-related heteroatom-carbon or, more significantly, carbon-carbon substituents. These tasks are challenging or impractical to achieve by classical methodologies, including de novo ring synthesis and electrophilic substitution reactions. Illustrative of the problem, which can be solved by DoM chemistry, is the construction of 2,3- and 3,4-dicarbon substituted pyridines. 

The range of preparatively useful electrophilic substitution reactions is often limited by the acid sensitivity of the substrates. Whereas thiophene can be successfully sulfonated in 95% sulfuric acid at room temperature, such strongly acidic conditions cannot be used for the sulfonation of furan or pyrrole. Attempts to nitrate thiophene, furan or pyrrole under conditions used to nitrate benzene and its derivatives invariably result in failure. In the case of sulfonation and nitration milder reagents can be employed, i.e. the pyridine-sulfur trioxide complex and acetyl nitrate, respectively. Attempts to carry out the Friedel-Crafts alkylation of furan are often unsuccessful because the catalysts required cause polymerization. 

Electrophilic substitution reactions of thieno[3,2-cf pyridine occur at position 7 (equation 38). With dimethyl sulfate in an alkaline medium, thieno[3,2-cf pyrimidin-4-one (347) yields an N-methyl derivative. 

As already described1 the electrophilic substitution reactions in the naphthyridines follow the pyridine pattern. Thus, 3-bromo derivatives are formed in all of the l,X-naphthyridines. In addition, dibromo derivatives are formed with the second bromine at the position / to the other ring nitrogen atom. This pattern prevails when either pyridine or nitrobenzene17 is used as a solvent rather than carbon tetrachloride. Bromination of 1,5-naphthyridine JV-oxide affords the 3,6-dibromo-l,5-naphthyridine as a minor product, apparently through prior de-N-oxygenation.18... 

Only a few investigations of electrophilic substitution reactions of pseudo-azulenes containing a pyrrole-type nitrogen have been reported. There are many examples of alkylations (see Table VI). An alkylation always takes place at the nitrogen of the five-membered ring. For 7H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]-pyridine 68 azocoupling and reaction with dithiolium salts have been reported.166... 

In general, free ligand pyridines show a great reluctance to take part in electrophilic substitution reactions. Forcing conditions are frequently required, and low yields and specificity are normally observed. In principle, co-ordination to a metal ion capable of back-donation should increase the tendency for electrophilic attack, since back-donation results in an increase in n electron density. 

Many electrophilic substitution reactions of pyridine (such as sulfonation and chlorination) are catalyzed by salts such as mercuric... 

Pyrazines are more resistant to electrophilic substitution reactions at the ring carbon atoms than the corresponding pyridines. Electrophilic attack normally takes place on the ring nitrogen atoms thus pyrazines form mono- and disalts with proton acids and mono- and... 

An equally serious problem is that the nitrogen lone pair is basic and a reasonably good nucleophile—this is the basis for its role as a nucleophilic catalyst in acylations. The normal reagents for electrophilic substitution reactions, such as nitration, are acidic. Treatment of pyridine with the usual mixture of HN03 and H2SO4 merely protonates the nitrogen atom. Pyridine itself is not very reactive towards electrophiles the pyridinium ion is totally unreactive. 

Quinoline forms part of quinine (structure at the head of this chapter) and isoquinoline forms the central skeleton of the isoquinoline alkaloids, which we will discuss at some length in Chapter 51. In this chapter we need not say much about quinoline because it behaves rather as you would expect—its chemistry is a mixture of that of benzene and pyridine. Electrophilic substitution favours the benzene ring and nucleophilic substitution favours the pyridine ring. So nitration of quinoline gives two products—the 5-nitroquinolines and the 8-nitroquinolines—in about equal quantities (though you will realize that the reaction really occurs on protonated quinoline. 

Compound (8), under Vilsmeier formylation and nitration (nitric acid-acetic anhydride) conditions, proceeded as might have been expected for electrophilic substitution reactions to give the 1-substituted products (142) and (143). Reduction of (143) gave predominantly the imidazopyridine (144) with a small amount of the tetrahydro derivative (145) (81JCS(P1)78). Heating (8) in D2O led to the 1-deutero derivative (78HCA1755) via deuter-ation-deprotonation or via the tautomeric 2-(diazomethyI)pyridine tautomer of (8). 

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