Thiophene positional selectivity

L. I. Belen kii, I. A. Suslov, N. D. Chuvylkin, Substrate and Positional Selectivity in Electrophilic Substitution Reactions of Pyrrole, Furan, Thiophene, and Selenophene Derivatives, Chem. Heterocycl. Compd. 2003, 39, 36- 8. 

A number of examples of a- and -substitution with mercuric acetate are known [86HC(44,2)1, Table 8]. Mercuriation of thiophene with mercuric acetate was claimed to give a high 2- 3-positional selectivity [70JCS(B)1153], though no quantitative data are available. The reactivity... 

A muscone synthesis involves selective intramolecular acylation at a vacant thiophene -position (Scheme 39). When intramolecular acylation reactions onto a -position of a thiophene or a pyrrole are attempted, a spirocyclic intermediate is formed in some cases with the result that rearranged products are formed (Scheme 40). 

Quantum chemical study of positional selectivities in reactions of furan, thiophene, selenophene, N-unsubstituted pyrrole and related benzannulated systems with electrophiles... 

Electrophilic substitution is an important type of reactions for five-membered heterocycles with one heteroatom and enables compounds with various substituents to be obtained. The present work is devoted to certain features of substrate and positional selectivities in electrophilic substitution reactions of derivatives of pyrrole, furan, thiophene and selenophene, and also the corresponding benzannulated systems, which had not been explained until recently. In a recent review (05RKZ(6)59), these problems were mainly discussed for thiophenes, while in a previous review (94H(37)2029) only monocyclic pyrrole, furan and thiophene derivatives were considered. 

POSITIONAL SELECTIVITY IN REACTIONS OF FURAN, THIOPHENE, SELENOPHENE, PYRROLE AND THEIR DERIVATIVES WITH ELECTROPHILES... 

The data considered confirm the reactivity sequence pyrrole furan > selenophene > thiophene for substrate selectivity on electrophilic substitution (71 AHC(13)235) and show that the positional selectivity is reduced in the series furan > selenophene > thiophene > pyrrole, which correlate with that for the relative stability of the onium states of the elements (O < Se < S " < N" ") in agreement with the hypothesis proposed previously (79MI2,80KGS1587), not including selenophene and its derivatives. 

We undertook a quantum chemical study of the protonation of monocyclic and benzannulated five-membered heterocyclic systems with one heteroatom (03KGS38). The initial calculations, carried out by the semi-empirical CNDO/2 method (81ZOR1129), gave values for the differences in energy of the cations formed on protonation of the a- and yS-positions iAEa-p) that corresponded with the available experimental data on the sequence of change in positional selectivity furan > thiophene > pyrrole. However, the place of selenophene between thiophene and pyrrole in this series predicted by these calculations was contradicted by the experimental results obtained later (95JHC53). The results of calculations by the MNDO and PM3 methods also did not fit the experimental data, possibly linked with poor parametrization for selenium atom (97M12). 

Structural changes affect seriously an electrophilic substitution orientation in pyrroles owing to their low positional selectivity in reactions with electrophiles. Thus, in contrast to thiophene, selenophene, and, especially, furan analogues, even a relatively weak type 11 substituent in position 2 of the pyrrole ring is capable of overcoming the a-oiienting effect of the heteroatom and directs an electrophile preferably to the position 4 (68JCS(B)392). N-(p-Nitrophenyl)pyrrole-2-carbaldehyde... 

Fig. 34. Positional selectivity of gaseous CH3FCH3 and f-C4Hj ions toward furan and thiophene [82JA7091 83JCS(P2)1491].

These substitutions are facilitated by electron release from the heteroatom pyrroles are more reactive than furans, which are in turn more reactive than thiophenes. Quantitative comparisons of the relative reactivities of the three heterocycles vary from electrophile to electrophile, but for trifluoroacetylation, for example, the pyrrole furan thiophene ratio is 5 x 10 1.5 x 10 I " in formylation, furan is 12 times more reactive than thiophene, and for acetylation, the value is 9.3. In hydrogen exchange (deuteriodeproton-ation), the partial rate factors for the a and p positions of A-methylpyrrole are 3.9 x 10 ° and 2.0 x 10 ° respectively for this same process, the values for furan are 1.6 x 10 and 3.2 x l(f and for thiophene, 3.9 X 10 and 1.0 x 10 respectively, and in a study of thiophene, a P ratios ranging from 100 1 to 1000 1 were found for different electrophiles. Relative substrate reactivity parallels positional selectivity i.e. the a P ratio decreases in the order furan > thiophene > pyrrole. ° Nice illustrations of these relative reactivities are found in acylations of compounds containing two different systems linked together. ... 

Kinetic studies of acylation reactions are somewhat limited by the insolubility of the acyl halide-Lewis acid complexes in many of the solvent systems that are used. However, useful results have been obtained and, as far as we are concerned, relative rates of reactions are of greater importance than absolute values. In any case it is not possible to distinguish between the two mechanistic extremes on the basis of the observed kinetics." Friedel-Crafts acylations are generally characterized by high substrate selectivity and frequently by high positional selectivity. Relative rate data show, as expected, that toluene is more reactive than benzene and that /n-xylene is the most reactive of the dimethylbenzenes. Values, relative to benzene, for benzoylation catalyzed by aluminum chloride were r-butylbenzene (72), toluene (1.1 X 10 ), p-xylene (1.4 x 10 ), o-xylene (1.12 x 10 ), and m-xylene (3.94 x 10- ). Competition data for the trifluoroacetylation of a number of heterocycles using trifluoroacetic anhydride at 75 "C gave the relative rates thiophene (1.0), furan (1.4 x lO ), 2-methylfuran (1.2 x 10 ) and pyrrole (5.3 x 10 ). ... 

Benzo[h] thiophene undergoes selective Rieche formylation (65%) in the 3-position with dichloromethyl butyl ether and TiCl4.508 2-Bromo- and 3-methylbenzo[h]thiophene are similarly formylated in the vacant thiophene position.345 508 The diarylmethane compounds 121 (Ar = thiophene, benzo-[h]thiophene, or benzene) undergo Rieche formylation, but the resulting aldehyde cyclizes under the conditions of the reaction, to give the annelated products 122.509... 

Electrophilic reactions on the electron-rich, aromatic thiophene nucleus continue to provide a powerful route to substituted derivatives. Comparison of positional selectivity of the heteroarenium ions derived from furan. pyrrole or thiophene suggest that ease of P-substitution correlates with the relative stabilities <94H2029>. Freidel-Crafts reaction of 2,5-... 

A simple method has been described for the preparation of 3-bromo- and 3,4-dibromothiophenes from polybrominated thiophenes by selective debromination brought about by electrochemical reduction <90S403>. The yields are very good. It is possible to control the reaction conditions so as to achieve either mono-debromination (position 2) or di-debromination (positions 2 and 5). 

The reactivity of thiophen has also been compared with that of seleno-phen and the relative reactivities in five electrophilic substitutions have been determined by kinetic or competitive procedures. The results have been compared with those available in the literature for furan. In all the reactions examined, selenophen exhibited a reactivity intermediate between those of furan and thiophen. p-Constants for electrophilic substitution of substituted thiophens are usually smaller than in the benzene series. A comparison of the trifluoroacetylation of a series of substituted thiophens and furans yielded p-values of — 7.4 and — 10.7 respectively. The observed order of substrate selectivity in the trifluoroacetylation (furan > thiophen) thus parallels the positional selectivity in electrophilic substitution, the oi ratio always being larger in furans than in thiophens. The relative importance of primary steric effects in benzene and thiophen has been investigated by determination of the isomer distributions in the acetylations of 2- and 3-methylthiophen, 2- and 3-t-butylthiophen, and toluene and t-butylbenzene. Steric hindrance is less significant in the thiophen series owing to the more favourable geometry. - ... 

Benzoic acid and naphthoic acid are formed by the oxidative carbonylation by use of Pd(OAc)2 in AcOH. t-Bu02H and allyl chloride are used as reoxidants. Addition of phenanthroline gives a favorable effect[360], Furan and thiophene are also carbonylated selectively at the 2-position[361,362]. fndole-3-carboxylic acid is prepared by the carboxylation of 1-acetylindole using Pd(OAc)2 and peroxodisulfate (Na2S208)[362aj. Benzoic acid derivatives are obtained by the reaction of benzene derivatives with sodium palladium mal-onate in refluxing AcOH[363]. 

Methylthiophene is metallated in the 5-position whereas 3-methoxy-, 3-methylthio-, 3-carboxy- and 3-bromo-thiophenes are metallated in the 2-position (80TL5051). Lithiation of tricarbonyl(i7 -N-protected indole)chromium complexes occurs initially at C-2. If this position is trimethylsilylated, subsequent lithiation is at C-7 with minor amounts at C-4 (81CC1260). Tricarbonyl(Tj -l-triisopropylsilylindole)chromium(0) is selectively lithiated at C-4 by n-butyllithium-TMEDA. This offers an attractive intermediate for the preparation of 4-substituted indoles by reaction with electrophiles and deprotection by irradiation (82CC467). 

The a-selectivity is illustrated by the fact that 2-alkyl-, > 2-methoxy-, > and 2-alkyIthio-thiophenes and alkyl thenyl sul-fides ° are metalated exclusively in the 5-position. In electrophilic aromatic substitution, as previously mentioned, an appreciable amount of 3-substitution is obtained with some of these groups. After acetalization ketones can also be metalated. Thus from the diethyl ketal of 2-acetylthiophene, 2-acetyl-5-thiophenealdehyde was obtained after metalation with n-butyllithium followed by the reaction of the metalorganic compound with A,A -dimethylformamide. ... 

Halopyrimidines also couple with stannanes of heterocycles such as furans [41], azaindoles [42], pyridines [43-46], thiazoles, pyrroles [46] and thiophenes [47], A representative example is the coupling of 3-tributylstannyl-7-azaindole 72 with 5-bromopyrimidine to furnish heterobiaryl 73 after acidic hydrolysis [42]. Moreover, a selective substitution at the 5-position was achieved when 4-chloro-5-iodopyrimidine 74 was allowed to react with 2-thienylstannane to provide thienylpyrimidine 75 [47]. 

The silylation of heteroarenes was also reported [96]. Silylation of thiophene or furan with 11 occurs selectively at the ot-position in the presence of [Ir(COD) (OMe)]2/2-ferf-butyl-l,10-phenanthroline (tbphen, 17). Silylation of pyrrole or indole under the same conditions was unsuccessful presumably due to the presence of the acidic N-H bond. Accordingly, N-substituted pyrrole and indole undergo silylation with 11, to selectively give 3-substituted products (Scheme 7). 

The aromatic silylation of five-membered heteroarenes under the same conditions (catalyst, temperature, solvent) also proceeded in regioselective fashion. Both, thiophene and furane derivatives are exclusively silylated at the a-position, but 1-triisopropylsily 1-pyrrole and -indole each produce selectively ]3-silyl products (Equations 14.9 and 14.10). 

In many ways, the electron-rich five-membered aromatic heterocycles behave very much like carbocyclic aromatic compounds when it comes to lithiation. Lithiation a to O or S of furan and thiophene is straightforward (Scheme 130) . The usual selection of orf/io-directing groups allows lithiation at other positions and some examples... 

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