Reactivity effects Friedel-Crafts substitution

The selectivity of an electrophile, measured by the extent to which it discriminated either between benzene and toluene, or between the meta- and ara-positions in toluene, was considered to be related to its reactivity. Thus, powerful electrophiles, of which the species operating in Friedel-Crafts alkylation reactions were considered to be examples, would be less able to distinguish between compounds and positions than a weakly electrophilic reagent. The ultimate electrophilic species would be entirely insensitive to the differences between compounds and positions, and would bring about reaction in the statistical ratio of the various sites for substitution available to it. The idea has gained wide acceptance that the electrophiles operative in reactions which have low selectivity factors Sf) or reaction constants (p+), are intrinsically more reactive than the effective electrophiles in reactions which have higher values of these parameters. However, there are several aspects of this supposed relationship which merit discussion. 

It has also been stated that the 5-position of selenazoles is more reactive toward electrophilic substitution than that of thiazoles. Such reactivity is still further increased by substituents in the 2-position of the selenazole ring, which can have an —E-effect. Simultaneously, however, an increasing tendency toward ring fission was observed by Haginiwa. Reactions of the selenazole ring are thus limited mainly to the 5-position which, specially in the 2-amino-and the 2-hydrazino-selenazoles, is easily substituted by electrophilic reagents. However, all attempts to synthesize selenazole derivatives by the Gattermann and by the Friedel-Crafts methods... 

The Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation are of very little, if any, synthetic interest when applied to heterocyclic aromatic bases the substitution of protonated heterocycles by nucleophilic carbon-centered radicals is instead successful. This reaction, because of the dominant polar effect which is mainly related to the charge-transfer character of the transition state (Scheme 1), reproduces most of the aspects of the Friedel-Crafts aromatic substitution, but reactivity and selectivity are the opposite. 

As mentioned before, alkyl radicals and acyl radicals have a nucleophilic character therefore, radical alkylation and acylation of aromatics shows the opposite reactivity and selectivity to polar alkylation and acylation with the Friedel-Crafts reaction. Thus, alkyl radicals and acyl radicals do not react with anisole, but may react with pyridine. Eq. 5.1 shows the reaction of an alkyl radical with y-picoline (1). The nucleophilic alkyl radical reacts at the 2-position of y-picoline (1), where electron density is lower than that of the 3-position. So, 2-alkyl-4-methylpyridine (2) is obtained with complete regioselectivity. When pyridine is used instead of y-picoline, a mixture of 2-alkylpyridine and 4-alkylpyridine is obtained. Generally, radical alkylation or radical acylation onto aromatics is not a radical chain reaction, since it is just a substitution reaction of a hydrogen atom of aromatics by an alkyl radical or an acyl radical through the addition-elimination reaction. Therefore, the intermediate adduct radical (a complex) must be rearomatized to form a product and a hydrogen atom (or H+ and e ). Thus, this type of reactions proceeds effectively under oxidative conditions [1-6]. 

Thio- and selenoacetals and esters are excellent substrates for mild Friedel-Crafts reactions, because of the affinity of sulfur and selenium for copper (Sch. 23). Anisole was readily acylated with methylselenoesters 94 at room temperature with activation by CuOTf to affordpnra-substituted (> 95 %) derivatives 95 [50,51]. Mercury(II) and copper(II) salts, which were effective for the activation of selenyl esters for reaction with alcohols, amines, and water, were not effective for the Friedel-Crafts reaction. Aromatic heterocycles 96 could be acylated in high yields, and the alkylation product 100 was obtained from dibutylthioacetal 99 and anisole. Vedejs has utilized this methodology in the cyclization of 101 to afford 102 in 77 % yield [52]. This intramolecular variant did not require the use of the more reactive bis copper triflate-benzene complex. 

Ferrocene, Fe(Ti5-C5H5)2, and related cyclopentadienyl complexes of transition metals in fact are far more thermally stable, less reactive substances than ionic cyclopentadienides, and have an extensive derivative chemistry that is typically aromatic in that their C-H bonds can undergo such electrophilic substitution reactions as Friedel-Crafts alkylation or acylation, nitration, and so on. Moreover, as a substituent, the ferrocenyl group (ri -f sl l5)Fc(ri -( 5l I4) (=R) is even more effective than a phenyl substituent in stabilizing carbenium ions [RCH2]+. The redox and photochemical properties of many metaUocenyl residues make them versatile substituents with many chemical and materials applications. ... 

Toluene-benzene reactivity ratios under a number of Friedel-Crafts conditions are recorded in Table 9.9. As would be expected on the basis of the low substrate selectivity, position selectivity is also modest. The amount of ortho product is often comparable to the para product. Steric effects play a major role in determining the o p ratio in Friedel-Crafts alkylations. The amount of ortho substitution of toluene... 

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