A One-pot Aromatic Vicarious Nucleophilic Substitution of Hydrogen/Alkylation Route to Substituted Nitrobenzenes

Nucleophilic aromatic substitution for heteroatoms: an oxidative electrochemical approach

The nucleophilic aromatic substitution for heteroatom through electrochemical oxidation of the intermediate sigma-complexes (Meisenheimer complexes) in simple nitroaromatic compounds is reported for the first time (NASX process). The studies have been carried out with hydride, cyanide, fluoride, methoxy, and ethanethiolate anions and n-butylamine as a nucleophile, at the cyclic voltammetry (CV) and preparative electrolysis level. The cyclic voltammetry experiments allow for detection and characterization of the sigma-complexes and they have led us to a proposal for the mechanism of the oxidation step. Furthermore, the power of the CV technique in the analysis of the reaction mixture throughout the whole chemical and electrochemical process is described.

Nucleophilic aromatic substitution of hydrogen: a novel electrochemical approach to the cyanation of nitroarenes

The nucleophilic aromatic substitution of hydrogen through electrochemical oxidation of the intermediate sigma complexes (Meisenheimer complexes) in simple nitroaromatic compounds is reported for the first time. The studies have been carried out with hydride and cyanide anions as the nucleophiles using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and preparative electrolysis. The cyclic voltammetry experiments allow for the detection and characterization of the sigma complexes and led us to a proposal for the mechanism of the oxidation step. Furthermore, the power of the CV technique in the analysis of the reaction mixture throughout the whole chemical and electrochemical process is described.

Electrochemical Oxidation ofσ-Complex-Type Intermediates in Aromatic Nucleophilic Substitutions

A series of sigma-adducts (1H-...7H-) derived from the addition of 2-nitropropenide ion to various nitrobenzofuroxans and nitrobenzofurazans have been oxidized electrochemically. The results show that the rearomatization of the carbocyclic ring of these adducts as well as that of a few additional 4,6-dinitrobenzofuroxan adducts (8 H- a-c) is associated with much higher oxidation potentials than found for the same process in the dinitro- and trinitrobenzene series. Especially high Eo values are measured for the oxidation of the 2-nitropropenide 4,6-dinitro- and 4-nitro-6-trifluoromethylsulfonylbenzofuroxan adducts 1H- and 4H- in acetonitrile: E (1H-)= 1.15 V versus SCE; Eo(4H-)=1.33V versus SCE. These values fit well with the available evidence that the chemical oxidation of these adducts requires the use of very strong oxidizing agents to proceed efficiently. The mechanism for the oxidation process has been established. It is shown to involve transfer of two electrons and liberation of one proton per sigma-complex precursor with no evidence whatsoever for the intermediacy of radical anionic species.