Pyrroles substitution, electrophilic, comparative

Nevertheless, we can interpret the reactions of furan and thiophene by logical consideration as we did for pyrrole. In electrophilic substitutions, there is again a preference for 2- rather than 3-substitution, and typical electrophilic reactions carried out under acidic conditions are difficult to control. However, because of lower reactivity compared with pyrrole, it is possible to exploit Friedel-Crafts acylations, though using less-reactive anhydrides rather than... 

Pyrroles are exceptionally nucleophilic heterocycles and undergo electrophilic substitution reactions with very weak electrophiles. The reactivity of pyrrole may be compared with that of N,(V-dimethyl-aniline or phenol all three compounds couple with the benzenediazonium ion. It is no surprise, therefore, that Mannich reactions of pyrrole and substituted pyrroles have been studied in considerable detail. We will concentrate our attention on recent studies. 

In addition to electrophilic attack on the pyrrole ring in indole, there is the possibility for additions to the fused benzene ring. First examine the highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of indole. Which atoms contribute the most What should be the favored position for electrophilic attack Next, compare the energies of the various protonated forms of indole (C protonated only). These serve as models for adducts formed upon electrophilic addition. Which carbon on the pyrrole ring (C2 or C3) is favored for protonation Is this the same as the preference in pyrrole itself (see Chapter 15, Problem 2)1 If not, try to explain why not. Which of the carbons on the benzene ring is most susceptible to protonation Rationalize your result based on what you know about the reactivity of substituted benzenes toward electrophiles. Are any of the benzene carbons as reactive as the most reactive pyrrole carbon Explain. 

Electrophilic substitution of pyrrole can, however, be carried out under specialised conditions (e.g. acylation with (MeC0)20/BF3, sulphonation with a pyridine/S03 complex, C5H5N-S03, cf. (67)) leading to preferential attack at the 2-, rather than the 3-, position. This reflects the slightly greater stabilisation of the Wheland intermediate for the former (70) compared with that for the latter (71) ... 

Individual substitutions may not necessarily be true electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions. Usually it is assumed that they are, however, and with this assumption the furan nucleus can be compared with others. For tri-fluoroacetylation by trifluoroacetic anhydride at 75 C relative rates have been established, by means of competition experiments 149 thiophene, 1 selenophene, 6.5 furan, 1.4 x 102 2-methylfuran, 1.2 x 105 pyrrole, 5.3 x 107. While nitrogen is usually a better source of electrons for an incoming electrophile (as in pyrrole versus furan) there are exceptions. For example, the enamine 63 reacts with Eschenmoser s salt at the 5-position and not at the enamine grouping.150 Also amusing is an attempted Fischer indole synthesis in which a furan ring is near the reaction site and diverted the reaction into a pyrazole synthesis.151... 

Problem 20.22 Compare, and explain the difference between, pyridine and pyrrole with respect to reactivity toward electrophilic substitution. 

The reactivity of five-membered rings with one heteroatom to electrophilic reagents has been quantitatively compared. Table 1 shows that the rates of substitution for (a) formylation by phosgene and V,iV-dimethylformamide, (b) acetylation by acetic anhydride and tin(IV) chloride, and (c) trifluoroacetylation with trifluoroacetic anhydride (71AHC(13)235) are all in the sequence furan > tellurophene > selenophene > thiophene. Pyrrole is still more reactive as shown by the rate for trifluoroacetylation, by the relative rates of bromination of the 2-methoxycarbonyl derivatives (pyrrole > furan > selenophene > thiophene), and by the rate data on the reaction of the iron tricarbonyl-complexed carbocation [C6H7Fe(CO)3]+ (Scheme 5) (2-methylindole ss V-methylindole > indole > pyrrole > furan > thiophene (73CC540)). 

Thiophene is far more reactive than benzene in electrophilic substitution reactions. Reaction with bromine in acetic acid has been calculated to be 1.76 x 109 times faster than with benzene (72IJS(C)(7)6l). This comparison should, of course, be treated with circumspection in view of the fact that the experimental conditions are not really comparable. Benzene in the absence of catalysts is scarcely attacked by bromine in acetic acid. More pertinent is the reactivity sequence for this bromination among five-membered aromatic heterocycles, the relative rates being in the order 1 (thiophene) and 120 (furan) or, for trifluoroacetylation, 1 (thiophene), 140 (furan), 5.3 xlO7 (pyrrole) (B-72MI31300, 72IJS(C)(7)6l). Among the five-membered heteroaromatics, thiophene is definitely the least reactive. 

The very high reactivity of pyrrole compared with furan in electrophilic substitutions is also confirmed by rate measurements of hydrogen-deuterium exchange in methanol-water-sulfuric acid mixtures53 (Table VI). The rate of exchange of pyrrole-2-d in 0.5%... 

For the so-called jt-excessive heterocycles, furan, pyrrole, and thiophene, where the heteroatom contributes two electrons to the aromatic sextet, the HOMO is of relatively high energy, compared to that in benzene, which fact confers the familiar high reactivity of these species toward electrophiles. Correspondingly, ionization to give cation-radicals is facile however, such species are not persistent without stabilizing substitution or annelation (see Section III,D,3). Anion-radicals are also known, particularly for thiophene-containing systems (see Part Two this Series, Volume 27, in press). 

Electrophilic substitution in the azoles is intermediate in facility between pyridine on the one hand and pyrroles, thiophenes and furans on the other the presence of the electron-withdrawing imine unit has an effect on the flve-membered aromatic heterocycles just as it does when incorporated into a six-membered aromatic framework, i.e. the comparison is like that between benzene and pyridine (Chapter 7). The order of reactivity - pyrrole > furan > thiophene - is echoed in the azoles, though the presence of the basic nitrogen complicates such comparisons. The regiochemistry of electrophilic attack can be rationalised nicely by comparing the character of the various ring positions - those that are activated in being flve-membered in character and those that are deactivated by their similarity to a- and y- positions in pyridine. 

---