Pyridine ring electrophilic substitutions

A striking demonstration of the reduced activity towards electrophiles for the pyridine ring compared with the benzene ring will be seen later when we consider the fused heterocycles quinoline and isoquinoline (see Section 11.8.1). These contain a benzene ring fused to a pyridine ring electrophilic substitution occurs exclusively in the benzene ring. 

Pyridine. Pyridine and its methyl substituted derivatives (picolines and lutidines) were found to polymerize electrochemically and, under certain circumstances, catalytically. This behavior was not expected because usually pyridine undergoes electrophilic substitution and addition slowly, behaving like a deactivated benzene ring. The interaction of pyridine with a Ni(100) surface did not indicate any catalytic polymerization. Adsorption of pyridine below 200 K resulted in pyridine adsorbing with the ring parallel to the surface. The infrared spectrum of pyridine adsorbed at 200 K showed no evidence of either ring vibrations or CH stretches (Figure 5). Desorption of molecular pyridine occurred at 250 K, and above 300 K pyridine underwent a... 

A -Oxide chemistry in these bicyclic systems largely parallels the processes described for pyridine A -oxide, with the additional possibility of benzene ring electrophilic substitution for example, mixed acid nitration of quinoline N-oxide takes place at C-5 and C-8 via the 0-protonated species, but at C-4 at lower acid strength nitration of isoquinoline A -oxide takes place at C-5. Diethyl cyanophosphonate converts quinoline and isoquinoline A -oxides into the 1- and 2-cyanoheterocycles in high yields in a process which must have 0-phosphorylation as a first step, and in which the elimination of diethylphosphate may proceed via a cyclic transition state. ... 

Despite its V excessive character (340), thiazole, just as pyridine, is resistant to electrophilic substitution. In both cases the ring nitrogen deactivates the heterocyclic nucleus toward electrophilic attack. Moreover, most electrophilic substitutions, which are performed in acidic medium, involve the protonated form of thiazole or some quaternary thiazolium derivatives, whose reactivity toward electrophiles is still lower than that of the free base. 

The precise numerical values of the calculated electron densities are unimportant, as the most important feature is the relative electron density thus, the electron density at the pyrazine carbon atom is similar to that at an a-position in pyridine and this is manifest in the comparable reactivities of these positions in the two rings. In the case of quinoxaline, electron densities at N-1 and C-2 are proportionately lower, with the highest electron density appearing at position 5(8), which is in line with the observation that electrophilic substitution occurs at this position. 

The electrophilic substitution of thiophene is much easier than that of benzene thus, thiophene is protonated in aqueous sulphuric acid about 10 times more rapidly than benzene, and it is brominated by molecular bromine in acetic acid about 10 times more rapidly than benzene. Benzene in turn is between 10 and lo times more reactive than an uncharged pyridine ring to electrophilic substitution. 

For pyridine, the reactivity toward electrophilic substitution is 3 > 4, 2. The ring nitrogen acts as a strongly destabilizing internal electron-withdrawing substituent in the 2- and 4-intermediates. The nitrogen also deactivates the 3-position, but less so than the 2- and 4-positions. 

The mechanisms of the electrophilic substitutions in the isoxazole nucleus have not yet been studied. They should not differ fundamentally from those usually accepted for the substitution of aromatic systems but the structural specificity of the isoxazole ring might give rise to some peculiarities, as recently specially discussed.One important point is that isoxazole shows a clearcut tendency to form coordination compounds. Just as pyridine and other azoles, isoxazoles coordinate with halogens and the salts of heavy metals, for example of cadmium,mercury,zinc. Such coordination... 

The chemistry of these polycyclic heterocycles is just what you miglu expect from a knowledge of the simpler heterocycles pyridine and pyrrole Quinoline and isoquinoline both have basic, pyridine-like nitrogen atoms, anc both undergo electrophilic substitutions, although less easily than benzene Reaction occurs on the benzene ring rather than on the pyridine ring, and r mixture of substitution products is obtained. 

Furthermore, the strongly metallic character of selenium weakens the C-Se bond and thus favors reactions involving opening of the ring. The basicity of the three heterocycles is approximately in the same order, the nitrogen atom of selenazole and thiazole possessing much the same properties as the heteroatom of pyridine. Of the two carbon atoms ortho to nitrogen, that is, the 2-carbon and the 4-carbon, only the one in the 2-position is fairly active as a result of its interaction with selenium or sulfur. The 4- and 5-positions of thiazole and selenazole are more susceptible to electrophilic substitution than the 3- and 5-positions of pyridine. This is particularly true of the 5-position of selenazole. Thus it can be said that the 2- and 5-positions of the selenazoles and thiazoles... 

Due to the electronegativity of the two nitrogen atoms, pyrimidine is a deactivated, rc-electron-deficient heterocycle. Its chemical behavior is comparable to that of 1,3-dinitrobenzene or 3-nitropyridine. One or more electron-donating substituents on the pyrimidine ring is required for electrophilic substitution to occur. In contrast, nucleophilic displacement takes place on pyrimidine more readily than pyridine. The trend also translates to palladium chemistry 4-chloropyrimidine oxidatively adds to Pd(0) more readily than does 2-chloropyridine. 

Heterocycles with conjugated jr-systems have a propensity to react by substitution, similarly to saturated hydrocarbons, rather than by addition, which is characteristic of most unsaturated hydrocarbons. This reflects the strong tendency to return to the initial electronic structure after a reaction. Electrophilic substitutions of heteroaromatic systems are the most common qualitative expression of their aromaticity. However, the presence of one or more electronegative heteroatoms disturbs the symmetry of aromatic rings pyridine-like heteroatoms (=N—, =N+R—, =0+—, and =S+—) decrease the availability of jr-electrons and the tendency toward electrophilic substitution, allowing for addition and/or nucleophilic substitution in yr-deficient heteroatoms , as classified by Albert.63 By contrast, pyrrole-like heteroatoms (—NR—, —O—, and — S—) in the jr-excessive heteroatoms induce the tendency toward electrophilic substitution (see Scheme 19). The quantitative expression of aromaticity in terms of chemical reactivity is difficult and is especially complicated by the interplay of thermodynamic and kinetic factors. Nevertheless, a number of chemical techniques have been applied which are discussed elsewhere.66... 

The total synthesis of the furo[3,2-a]carbazole alkaloid furostifoline is achieved in a highly convergent manner by successive formation of the car-bazole nucleus and annulation of the furan ring (Scheme 15). Electrophilic substitution of the arylamine 30 using the complex salt 6a provides complex 31. In this case, iodine in pyridine was the superior reagent for the oxidative cyclization to the carbazole 32. Finally, annulation of the furan ring by an Amberlyst 15-catalyzed cyclization affords furostifoline 33 [97]. 

The double iron-mediated arylamine cyclization provides a highly convergent route to indolo[2,3-fc]carbazole (Scheme 16). Double electrophilic substitution of m-phenylenediamine 34 by reaction with the complex salt 6a affords the diiron complex 35, which on oxidative cyclization using iodine in pyridine leads to indolo[2,3-b]carbazole 36 [98].Thus,ithasbeen demonstrated that the bidirectional annulation of two indole rings can be applied to the synthesis of indolocarbazoles. 

Quinoline is much more reactive towards electrophilic substitution than pyridine, but this is because substitution occurs on the benzene ring, not on the pyridine. We have already seen that pyridine carbons are unreactive towards electrophilic reagents, with strongly acidic systems protonating the nitrogen... 

Reaction of nucleophiles with the polarized N=C bond of azines proceeds via dearomatization and formation of the corresponding 1,2-adduct. With alkyllithiums, for example, it is possible to isolate the dihydro products by careful neutralization of the reaction mixtures these are, in general, rather unstable, however, and can easily be reoxidized to the fully aromatic compounds (Scheme 4). The dihydro adducts formed in these direct nucleophilic addition reactions can also be utilized for the introduction of substituent groups /3 to the heteroatom. Thus, reaction of (35) with one of a number of electrophiles, followed by oxidation of the intermediate dihydro product, constitutes a simple and, in many cases, effective method for the introduction of substituent groups at both the 2- and 5-positions of the pyridine ring (Scheme 4). Use of LAH in this sequence, of course, results in the formation of 3-substituted pyridines. 

This short summary has aimed to highlight a few of the more important aspects of the orientation of electrophilic substitution of pyridines and their benzo analogues. Strictly, reactions that involve metallation could be treated under this heading but they will be considered as involving a nucleophilic attack at a ring hydrogen (see Section 2.05.5). Electrophilic cyclizations of a substituent on to a pyridine will be mentioned briefly, but Chapter 2.06 should be consulted for those reactions. 

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