Sulfuric acid, reaction with nitro compounds

Many polycyclic aromatic amines and aldehydes are commercially available, but their supply is very limited. Preparation of these starting materials is necessary for studying the (3-lactam formation reaction [93]. Nitro compounds are the precursors for the amines. An important task was to prepare polycyclic aromatic nitro compounds, particularly those of chrysene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and dibenzofluorene in good yield. Nitration of these hydrocarbons with concentrated nitric acid in sulfuric acid is a widely used reaction for this purpose. Our research culminated in facile synthesis of polyaromatic nitro derivative 9 starting from polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) 8 through the use of bismuth nitrate impregnated with clay (Scheme 1) ([94, 95] for some examples of bismuth nitrate-catalyzed reactions... 

Various 2-oxo compounds have been subjected to a variety of reactions. Alkylation and acylation result in the formation of 1,3-disubstituted products.Similarly the Mannich reaction with morpholine gives products such as the bis compound 107. Halogenation of the 0x0 compound 108 with bromine in acetic acid," or chlorine in acetic acid, ° or with sulfuryl chloride results in formation of the monohalo derivatives 109. The chlorine atom in 109 (R = Cl) can be removed by hydrogenation over palladium on charcoal. Nitration of the chloro compound 110 with a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids provides the nitro derivative 111, which may be catalytically reduced to the amino compound 112. If the reduction is carried out in the presence of an aldehyde, the product is a substituted amino derivative (113). Alternatively the amine 112 can be condensed with an aldehyde and the resultant Schiff base reduced to give the product 113. 

Electrolytic reductions generally caimot compete economically with chemical reductions of nitro compounds to amines, but they have been appHed in some specific reactions, such as the preparation of aminophenols (qv) from aromatic nitro compounds. For example, in the presence of sulfuric acid, cathodic reduction of aromatic nitro compounds with a free para-position leads to -aminophenol [123-30-8] hy rearrangement of the intermediate N-phenyl-hydroxylamine [100-65-2] (61). 

Reaction of nitromalon-bis-A -methylanilide (105) with sulfuric acid gives A -methylisatin- -oxime (107) and not 4-methylquinoxalin-3-one 1-oxide (108) as originally suggested. This transformation may involve a Beckmann-type rearrangement of the protonated aci-nitro compound (106) prior to dehydrative ring closure. ... 

Primary or secondary aliphatic nitro compounds can be hydrolyzed, respectively, to aldehydes or ketones, by treatment of their conjugate bases with sulfuric acid. This is called the Nef reaction Tertiary aliphatic nitro compounds do not give the reaction because they cannot be converted to their conjugate bases. Like 16-2, this reaction involves hydrolysis of a C=N double bond. A possible mechanism is" ... 

When primary nitro compounds are treated with sulfuric acid without previous conversion to the conjugate bases, they give carboxylic acids. Hydroxamic acids are intermediates and can be isolated, so that this is also a method for preparing them. Both the Nef reaction and the hydroxamic acid process involve the aci form the difference in products arises from higher acidity, for example, a difference in sulfuric acid concentration from 2 to 15.5 M changes the product from the aldehyde to the hydroxamic acid. The mechanism of the hydroxamic acid reaction is not known with certainty, but if higher acidity is required, it may be that the protonated aci form of the nitro compound is further protonated. 

Replacement of a hydrogen of benzene by chlorine is termed chlorination. When one or more hydrogens are replaced by an -NO2 (nitro group), it is called nitration. Reaction of benzene with sulfuric acid, a reaction known as sulfonation, leads to a sulfonic acid. Note that in each substitution reaction, a small hydrogen-containing compound is formed. 

Although primary and secondary nitro compounds may be converted, respectively, to aldehydes and ketones by consecutive treatment with alkalis and sulfuric acid (Nef s reaction) the same products can be obtained by reduction with titanium trichloride (yields 45-90%) [565] or chromous chloride (yields 32-77%) [190]. The reaction seems to proceed through a nitroso rather than an aci-nitro intermediate [565] (Scheme 54, route b). 

Primaquine Primaquine, 8-[(4-amino-l-methylbutyryl)amino]-6-methoxyquinoline (37.1.2.4), is made from 6-methoxy-8-nitroquinoline (37.1.2.1), which is synthesized in a Skraup reaction from 4-methoxy-2-nitroaniline and glycerol in the presence of sulfuric acid. The nitro group in this compound is reduced to make 6-methoxy-8-aminoquinoline (37.1.2.2). Alkylating the amino group with 4-bromo-l-phthalimidopentane gives 8-[(4-phthalimido-l-methylbutyryl)amino]-6-methoxyquinoline (37.1.2.3), the hydrazi-nolysis of which removes the phthalimide protection, giving primaqnine [28,29]. 

Nitric acid is used for nitration of many organic compounds. Many nitro derivatives are made by such reactions. Pure nitric acid or often its combination with concentrated sulfuric acid is employed in these syntheses. When pure nitric acid is dissolved in concentrated sulfuric acid, it forms nitronium ion, N02, the active species in nitration reactions ... 

Some reactions of 2,2 -bipyridine /V-oxides have been reported. The l,T-dioxide is nitrated readily to 4,4 -dinitro-2,2 -bipyridine 1,T-dioxide. ° ° °" 2,2 -Bipyridine 1-oxide is also nitrated in the 4 position. The nitro groups in 4,4 -dinitro-2,2 -bipyridine l,T-dioxide are reactive, being replaced by chlorine with concentrated hydrochloric acid," by bromine with acetyl bromide, by hydroxyl with dilute sulfuric acid, and by alkoxy groups with sodium alkoxides. Some of the dialkoxy derivatives are useful catalysts for the oxidation of aromatic compounds. The dinitro dioxide is deoxygenated to 4,4 -dinitro-2,2 -bipyridine with phosphorus trichloride in chloroform, and other substituted l,T-dioxides behave similarly, but with phosphorus trichloride alone, 4,4 -dichloro-2,2 -bipyridine results. The dinitro dioxide is reduced by iron powder in acetic acid to 4,4 -diamino-2,2 -bipyridine, whereas 4,4 -dichloro-2,2 -bipyridine l,T-dioxide is converted to its 4,4 -diamino analogs with amines. Related reactions have been described. ... 

A number of dihalogenated aromatic amines have been conveniently converted into the corresponding nitroso compounds by room-temperature oxidation with peracetic acid with and without the presence of catalytic amounts of sulfuric acid. Care must be taken to maintain mild reaction conditions to prevent the conversion of the nitroso product into a nitro compound [84]. The example cited here for the preparation of 2,6-dichloronitrosobenzene dimer does afford an excellent yield. 

TNT is the abbreviation of the aromatic nitrated aromatic compound 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene. It is a pale-yellow crystalline solid that was first synthesized in 1863 by the German chemist Joseph Wilbrand (1811—1894), but it was not immediately used as an explosive. TNT is made by nitrating toluene using nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and oleum (a mixture of sulfuric acid and S03). Nitration of toluene occurs in stages, with the nitro units added sequentially in a stepwise process as the reaction proceeds. The last nitro unit is accomplished by using oleum (SO, dissolved in sulfuric acid). After nitration, unused acids are recycled, and the product is washed with sodium sulfite and water to remove impurities. 

The results of nitration reactions depend on reagents and the acidity of the medium. Thus fuming nitric acid in concentrated sulfuric acid converts (410a) to the 3-nitro derivative while with acetyl nitrate reaction occurs exclusively at C-4 (equation 50). The nitration in the 4-position can also conveniently be done with nitronium tetrafluoroborate. The reduction of these nitro compounds by hydrazine in the presence of palladium on charcoal provides a versatile route to 4-amino-7,6-borazarothieno[3,2-c]pyridines (75ACS(B)46l>. In the nitration of 4,5-borazarothieno[2,3-c]pyridines (e.g. 409a), peri effects from the substituents on the boron atom lead to formation of a considerable amount of the 2-nitro derivatives. 

Only a few electrophilic reactions of selenolopyridines have been reported. In deuteriodeprotonation of selenolo[3,2-6]pyridine the 3-position is the preferred site of attack (78JCS(P2)86l>. In selenolo[3,2-6]pyridine and thieno[3,2-6]pyridine the C-2/C-3 reactivity ratio is ca. 10-3 whereas for furo[3,2-6]pyridine a value of ca. 10-5 has been determined. Logarithmic partial rate factors (Figure 13) show that seleno o[3,2-6 ]pyridine is the most reactive compound. As in the case of (9) and (261), the deuteriodeprotonation of (426) takes place on the protonated species. Both se enolo[2,3-6]- and [3,2-6]pyridine (423, 426) on treatment with potassium nitrate and concentrated sulfuric acid give yield the corresponding 3-nitro derivatives in 50% yield (10 °C, 3 h). 

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