The Friedel Crafts Acylation

The problem of overalkylation can be avoided by using a large excess of benzene. For example, if 1 mole of ethyl chloride is used with 50 moles of benzene, the concentration of ethylbenzene is always low, and the electrophile is more likely to react with benzene than with ethylbenzene. Distillation separates the product from excess benzene. This is a common industrial approach, since a continuous distillation can recycle the unreacted benzene. 

In the laboratory, we must often alkylate aromatic compounds that are more expensive than benzene. Because we cannot afford to use a large excess of the starting material, a more selective method is needed. Fortunately, the Friedel-Crafts acylation, discussed in Section 17-11, introduces just one group without danger of polyalkylation or rearrangement. 

Which reactions will produce the desired product i n good yield You may assume that aluminum chloride is added as a catalyst in each case. For the reactions that will not give a good yield of the desired product, predict the major products. 

Show how you would synthesize the following aromatic derivatives from benzene. 

An acyl group is a carbonyl group with an alkyl group attached. Acyl groups are 17-11 

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It should be noted that the Friedel-Crafts acylation differs from the Friedel-Crafts alkylation (compare Sections IV,3-4 and discussion preceding Section IV,1) in one important respect. The alkylation requires catal3d.ic quantities of aluminium chloride, but for acylation a molecular equivalent of aluminium chloride is necessary for each carbonyl group present in the acylating agent. This is because aluminium chloride is capable of forming rather stable complexes with the carbonyl group these complexes probably possess an oxonium... 

When the reverse order of steps is attempted it is observed that the Friedel-Crafts acylation of nitrobenzene fails... 

Perchlorylation. The stabiUty of perchloryl fluoride [7616-94-6] FCIO, makes possible perchlorylation of aromatics, a reaction closely related to the Friedel-Crafts acylation (159) ... 

PoIysuIfonyIa.tlon, The polysulfonylation route to aromatic sulfone polymers was developed independendy by Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) and by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) at about the same time (81). In the polymerisation step, sulfone links are formed by reaction of an aromatic sulfonyl chloride with a second aromatic ring. The reaction is similar to the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction. The key to development of sulfonylation as a polymerisation process was the discovery that, unlike the acylation reaction which requires equimolar amounts of aluminum chloride or other strong Lewis acids, sulfonylation can be accompHshed with only catalytic amounts of certain haUdes, eg, FeCl, SbCl, and InCl. The reaction is a typical electrophilic substitution by an arylsulfonium cation (eq. 13). 

Friedel-Crafts Acylation. The Friedel-Crafts acylation procedure is the most important method for preparing aromatic ketones and thein derivatives. Acetyl chloride (acetic anhydride) reacts with benzene ia the presence of aluminum chloride or acid catalysts to produce acetophenone [98-86-2], CgHgO (1-phenylethanone). Benzene can also be condensed with dicarboxyHc acid anhydrides to yield benzoyl derivatives of carboxyHc acids. These benzoyl derivatives are often used for constmcting polycycHc molecules (Haworth reaction). For example, benzene reacts with succinic anhydride ia the presence of aluminum chloride to produce P-benzoylpropionic acid [2051-95-8] which is converted iato a-tetralone [529-34-0] (30). 

Acylation (Section 12.7 and Chapter 20) Reaction in which an acyl group becomes attached to some structural unit in a molecule. Examples include the Friedel-Crafts acylation and the conversion of amines to amides. 

The most important method for the synthesis of aromatic ketones 3 is the Friedel-Crafts acylation. An aromatic substrate 1 is treated with an acyl chloride 2 in the presence of a Lewis-acid catalyst, to yield an acylated aromatic compound. Closely related reactions are methods for the formylation, as well as an alkylation procedure for aromatic compounds, which is also named after Friedel and Crafts. 

Drawbacks as known from the Friedel-Crafts alkylation are not found for the Friedel-Crafts acylation. In some cases a decarbonylation may be observed as a side-reaction, e.g. if loss of CO from the acylium ion will lead to a stable carbenium species 8. The reaction product of the attempted acylation will then be rather an alkylated aromatic compound 9 ... 

An important application of the Friedel-Crafts acylation is the intramolecular reaction, leading to ring closure. This variant is especially useful for the closure of six-membered rings, but five-membered ring products and larger rings, as well as heterocycles, are also accessible ... 

As an illustrating example for the application of the Friedel-Crafts acylation in the synthesis of complex molecules, its use in the synthesis of [2.2.2]cyclophane 13 by Cram and Truesdale shall be outlined. The reaction of [2.2]paracyclo-phane 10 with acetyl chloride gives the acetyl-[2.2]paracyclophane 11, which is converted into the pseudo-geminal disubstituted phane 12 by a Blanc reaction, and further to the triple bridge hydrocarbon 13 ... 

The synthesis of an alkylated aromatic compound 3 by reaction of an aromatic substrate 1 with an alkyl halide 2, catalyzed by a Lewis acid, is called the Friedel-Crafts alkylation This method is closely related to the Friedel-Crafts acylation. Instead of the alkyl halide, an alcohol or alkene can be used as reactant for the aromatic substrate under Friedel-Crafts conditions. The general principle is the intermediate formation of a carbenium ion species, which is capable of reacting as the electrophile in an electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction. 

The mechanism for that step is closely related to that of the Friedel-Crafts acylation. Upon subsequent hydrolysis the o-substituted Lewis acid-coordinated phenolate 7 is converted to the free o-acylphenol 2. By an analogous route, involving an electrophilic aromatic substitution para to the phenolate oxygen, the corresponding para-acylphenol is formed. 

The preparation of a formyl-substituted aromatic derivative 3 from an aromatic substrate 1 by reaction with hydrogen cyanide and gaseous hydrogen chloride in the presence of a catalyst is called the Gattermann synthesis This reaction can be viewed as a special variant of the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction. 

The synthetic importance of the Houben-Hoesch reaction is even more limited by the fact that aryl ketones are also available by application of the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction. 

While the Friedel-Crafts acylation is a general method for the preparation of aryl ketones, and of wide scope, there is no equivalently versatile reaction for the preparation of aryl aldehydes. There are various formylation procedures known, each of limited scope. In addition to the reactions outlined above, there is the Vdsmeier reaction, the Reimer-Tiemann reaction, and the Rieche formylation reaction The latter is the reaction of aromatic compounds with 1,1-dichloromethyl ether as formylating agent in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst. This procedure has recently gained much importance. 

As a demonstration of the complete synthesis of a pharmaceutical in an ionic liquid, Pravadoline was selected, as the synthesis combines a Friedel-Crafts reaction and a nucleophilic displacement reaction (Scheme 5.1-24) [53]. The allcylation of 2-methylindole with l-(N-morpholino)-2-chloroethane occurs readily in [BMIM][PF6] and [BMMIM][PF6] (BMMIM = l-butyl-2,3-dimethylimida2olium), in 95-99 % yields, with potassium hydroxide as the base. The Friedel-Crafts acylation step in [BMIM][PF6] at 150 °C occurs in 95 % yield and requires no catalyst. 

The Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction has also been performed in iron(III) chloride ionic liquids, by Seddon and co-workers [96]. An example is the acetylation of benzene (Scheme 5.1-66). Ionic liquids of the type [EMIM]Cl/FeCl3 (0.50 < X(FeCl3) < 0.62) are good acylation catalysts, with the added benefit that the ketone product of the reaction can be separated from the ionic liquid by solvent extraction, provided that X(FeCl3) is in the range 0.51-0.55. 

Many organic chemical transformations have been carried out in ionic liquids hydrogenation [4, 5], oxidation [6], epoxidation [7], and hydroformylation [8] reactions, for example. In addition to these processes, numerous synthetic routes involve a carbon-carbon (C-C) bond-forming step. As a result, many C-C bondforming procedures have been studied in ambient-temperature ionic liquids. Among those reported are the Friedel-Crafts acylation [9] and allcylation [10] reactions, allylation reactions [11, 12], the Diels-Alder reaction [13], the Heck reaction [14], and the Suzuld [15] and Trost-Tsuji coupling [16] reactions. 

Figure 16.9 Mechanism of the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction. The electrophile is a resonance-stabilized acyl cation, whose electrostatic potential map indicates that carbon is the most positive atom (blue).

An important use of the Friedel-Crafts acylation is to effect ring closure. This can be done if an acyl halide, anhydride, or acid group is in the proper position. An example is... 

Bismuth tra-tri lluoromcthancsulfonate, Bi(OTf)3, and BiCh were found to be effective catalysts for the Friedel-Crafts acylation of both activated and deactivated benzene derivatives such as fluorobenzene.19 Ga(III) triflate is also effective for Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation in alcohols and can tolerate water.20 This catalyst is water-stable... 

The heat of decomposition (238.4 kJ/mol, 3.92 kJ/g) has been calculated to give an adiabatic product temperature of 2150°C accompanied by a 24-fold pressure increase in a closed vessel [9], Dining research into the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction of aromatic compounds (components unspecified) in nitrobenzene as solvent, it was decided to use nitromethane in place of nitrobenzene because of the lower toxicity of the former. However, because of the lower boiling point of nitromethane (101°C, against 210°C for nitrobenzene), the reactions were run in an autoclave so that the same maximum reaction temperature of 155°C could be used, but at a maximum pressure of 10 bar. The reaction mixture was heated to 150°C and maintained there for 10 minutes, when a rapidly accelerating increase in temperature was noticed, and at 160°C the lid of the autoclave was blown off as decomposition accelerated to explosion [10], Impurities present in the commercial solvent are listed, and a recommended purification procedure is described [11]. The thermal decomposition of nitromethane under supercritical conditions has been studied [12], The effects of very high pressure and of temperature on the physical properties, chemical reactivity and thermal decomposition of nitromethane have been studied, and a mechanism for the bimolecular decomposition (to ammonium formate and water) identified [13], Solid nitromethane apparently has different susceptibility to detonation according to the orientation of the crystal, a theoretical model is advanced [14], Nitromethane actually finds employment as an explosive [15],... 

Catalytic activity of the beta zeolite with enhanced textural properties in the Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatic compounds... 

Friedel-Crafts acylation is widely used for the production of aromatic ketones applied as intermediates in both fine chemicals and pharmaceutical industries. The reaction is carried out by using conventional homogenous catalysts, which represents significant technical and environmental problems. The present work reports the results obtained in the Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatic substrates (anisole and 2-methoxynaphthalene) catalyzed by Beta zeolite obtained by crystallization of silanized seeds. This material exhibits hierarchical porosity and enhanced textural properties. For the anisole acylation, the catalytic activity over the conventional Beta zeolite is slightly higher than with the modified Beta material, probably due to the relatively small size of this substrate and the weaker acidity of the last sample. However, the opposite occurred in the acylation of a bulky substrate (2-methoxynaphthalene), with the modified Beta showing a higher conversion. This result is interpreted due to the presence of a hierarchical porosity in this material, which favors the accessibility to the active sites. 

The present work reports the results obtained in the Friedel-Crafts acylation of different aromatic substrates catalyzed by zeolite Beta obtained according to a novel method based on the crystallization of silanized seeds, as a way to perturb the subsequent crystal growth step and to modify the zeolite textural properties [5], The catalytic behavior of this material is compared with that of the conventional Beta zeolite. 

Use of graphite-supported methodology has been reported for three types of reaction - the Friedel-Crafts acylation [15, 16, 27, 66], the acylative cleavage of ethers [15, 16], and the ketodecarboxylation of carboxylic diacids [67, 68], either with conventional heating (GS/A) or MW irradiation (GS/MW coupling) these are discussed below. First, however, we describe the analysis of two commercial graphites of different purity which are used for these experiments. 

The first example of SILP-catalysis was the fixation of an acidic chloroaluminate ionic liquid on an inorganic support. The acidic anions of the ionic liquid, [AI2CI7] and [AI3CI10], react with free OH-groups of the surface to create an anionic solid surface with the ionic liquid cations attached [72]. The catalyst obtained was applied in the Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatic compounds. Later, the immobilisation of acidic ionic liquids by covalent bonding of the ionic liquid cation to the surface was developed and applied again in Friedel-Crafts chemistry [73]. 

The Friedel-Crafts acylation at the 3-position of the azulene ring was possible due to the effect of the electron-withdrawing 1-methoxycarbonyl group. 183 has been prepared previously in an eight-step synthetic route in an unsatisfactory reaction yield156. 

Compounds 1 and 2 were identified by FTIR and 13C-NMR. The 13C proton decoupled spectra for 1 and 2 are dominated by signals ranging from 62 to 195 ppm. The 13C chemical shift assignments were made based on comparisons with 4,4 -(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphenol and from calculations based on substituted benzenes and naphthalenes.15 The 13C-NMR spectrum clearly showed that the Friedel-Crafts acylation of 1 by 4-fluorobenzoyl chloride yielded the 1,4-addition product exclusively. The 13C chemical shifts for 2 are listed in Table 8.1. The key structural features in the FTIR spectrum of2 include the following absorptions aromatic C-H, 3074 cnr1, ketone C=0, 1658 cm-1, aromatic ether Ar—0—Ar, 1245 cm-1, and C—F, 1175 cm-1. 

In-situ IR-spectroscopic characterization of the Friedel-Crafts acylation of benzene in ionic liquids derived from AICI3 and FeCl3 showed that the mechanism of the reaction in ionic liquids was the same as that in 1,2-dichloroethane (128). The immobilization of ferric chloride-containing ionic liquid onto solid supports (e.g., silica and carbon) however failed to catalyze the acylation reaction, because leaching was a serious problem. When the reaction was carried out with gas-phase reactants, catalyst deactivation was observed. 

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