p-(tricyanovinylidene)phenylhydrazones. Nucleophilic attack on carbon-carbon double bonds

The dispacement of a —CN group inp-(tricyanovinylidene)-phenylhydrazones, induced by amines, is investigated. The rate of the reaction is dependent on the polarity of the solvent and the observed second-order rate coefficientsk _obs ² for the —CN displacement increase with the amine concentration. A X-ray analysis of one of the substituted compounds is also reported.This work was supported by Ministero Pubblica Istruzione (Rome, 60%).     

Reinvestigation of the noncatalyzed coupling of aryllithium with haloarene: a novel aromatic nucleophilic substitution pathway

Noncatalyzed coupling reactions of aryllithiums and haloarenes proceed not only through the well-known aryne route but also, in some cases, through a novel addition-elimination pathway. Indeed, ortho-chloro- and ortho-bromomethoxyarenes lead selectively to the corresponding ortho-biaryls through a chelation-driven aromatic nucleophilic substitution pathway. Contrary to common belief, such noncatalyzed coupling reactions often proceed with high regioselectivity and high yield. These results underline the potency of such simple reactions and open up a straightforward access to a wide range of biaryl structures; this also appears particularly useful for large-scale and biaryl building-block syntheses, as only cheap and readily available substrates are involved.     

Abnormal Nucleophilic Substitution on Methoxytropone Derivatives: Steric Strategy to Synthesize 5-Substituted Azulenes

Azulene is a non-alternant non-benzenoid aromatic system, and in turn, it possesses unusual photophysical properties. Azulene-based conjugated systems have received increasing interest in recent years as optoelectronic materials. Despite the routes available for the preparation of substituted azulene derivatives, there remain few methods that allow regioselective substitution on the seven-membered ring of azulenes due to the subtle reactivity difference among the various positions. This report explores the reactivity of substituted tropolones as the azulene precursors and also provides a new method to create 5-substituted azulenes. The reaction of cyanoacetate enolate with unsubstituted 2-methoxytropone affords azulene through the attack of the nucleophile on the C-2 center (normal pathway). We have observed that 3-substituted 2-methoxytropones undergo steric-guided nucleophilic addition at the C-7 center (abnormal pathway) to afford 5-substituted azulene derivatives. Based on this observation and DFT calculation, a new synthetic strategy is devised for the regioselective synthesis of 5-substituted multifunctional azulenes, which cannot be accessed by any other method.     

Regioselective Bromination of a Thymine–Acridine Conjugate by N-Bromosuccinimide

A thymine and acridine conjugate (1), containing a benzylic carbon of thymine and an electron-rich aromatic ring (acridine) within the same molecule, was synthesized. Treatment of 1 with N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) in anhydrous chloroform in the presence of azobisisobutylnitrile produced a dibromo-substituted thymine–acridine conjugate (7) as a major product, in which the bromination was only observed on the acridine ring. Nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) difference spectroscopy revealed that the actual bromination substitution was on C-2 and C-7 of acridine. Our results suggest that electrophilic aromatic substitution, not the expected benzylic radical reaction, takes place predominantly even when 1 is subjected to the NBS reaction condition, which favors radical processes. In addition, such selectivity is clearly solvent dependent.     

A Vicinal Electrophilic Diborylation Reaction Furnishes Doubly Boron‐Doped Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Ten examples of unsymmetrically benzannulated, boron‐doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (B‐PAHs) were prepared by a one‐pot protocol using 4,5‐dichloro‐1,2‐bis(trimethylsilyl)benzene ( 1 ), BBr₃, and selected PAHs—among them anthracene, benzo[a ]pyrene, biphenylene, and fluoranthene. After mesitylation at the boron centers, the resulting air‐ and water‐stable products were investigated by ¹H/¹¹B{¹H}/¹³C{¹H} NMR spectroscopy, X‐ray crystallography, cyclic voltammetry, and UV/Vis absorption/emission spectroscopy. The experiments were augmented by DFT calculations. Most of the B‐PAHs are brightly luminescent (Φ _PL up to 90 %) and undergo reversible reduction at moderate half‐wave potentials. The two chloro substituents of 1 are not only mandatory for accomplishing efficient diborylation, but can subsequently be used for Stille‐type coupling reactions to introduce 2‐thienyl moieties. Alternatively, Cl/H exchange is achievable with HSiEt₃ in a quantitative, Pd‐catalyzed transformation.     

Accessing Remote meta‐ and para‐C(sp2)−H Bonds with Covalently Attached Directing Groups

Directing group assisted ortho‐C?H activation has been known for the last few decades. In contrast, extending the same approach to achieve activation of the distal meta‐ and para‐C?H bonds in aromatic molecules remained elusive for a long time. The main challenge is the conception of a macrocyclic transition state, which is needed to anchor the metal catalyst close to the target bond. Judicious modification of the chain length, the tether linkage, and the nature of the catalyst‐coordinating donor atom has led to a number of successful studies in the last few years. This Review compiles the significant achievements made in this field of both meta‐ and para‐selectivity using covalently attached directing groups, which are systematically classified on the basis of their mode of covalent attachment to the substrate as well as their chemical nature. This Review aims to create a more heuristic approach for recognizing the suitability of the directing groups for use in future organic transformations.     

Reactions of methyl(pentafluorophenyl)- and methyl(pentafluorophenyl)phenylsilanes with electrophiles. A convenient preparative route to halogeno(methyl)pentafluorophenylsilanes C6F5SiMe2X and C6F5SiMeX2 (X=F, Cl and Br)

Halogeno(methyl)pentafluorophenylsilanes C₆F₅SiMe_nX_3−n (n=1, 2) (X=F, Cl, Br) were prepared in good yields from the corresponding phenylsilanes C₆F₅SiMe_nPh_3−n by reactions with the electrophiles aHF, HCl–AlCl₃, Br₂–AlBr₃ or AlX₃ (X=Cl, Br) halogenated hydrocarbons. Additionally, reactions of C₆F₅SiMe₃ and (C₆F₅)₂SiMe₂ with selected electrophiles were studied.     

Conformationally Complex π‐Conjugated Molecular and Polymeric Materials: New Challenges for Organic Synthesis

No protection? A unique, albeit fairly specialized, example of what promises to be a useful retrosynthetic consideration for those designing complex π‐molecular systems, namely, using conformation as a protecting group to shield a given reactive site in lieu of protecting‐group manipulation, is described (see scheme).

     

Difluoroalkylamines from high temperature vapor phase reactions of nitrogen trifluoride with alkanes, ethers and benzene

At temperatures around 400 °C, nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃) readily reacts with alkanes and benzene as well as ethers. In all cases, products were N,N-difluoroamines. This is in contrast to difluoroamination of benzylic substrates where the initial N,N-difluoroamines underwent eliminations or rearrangements and were not isolated. Cyclic and acyclic alkanes generated N,N-difluoroaminoalkanes. Benzene substituted on the ring to form N,N-difluoroaniline. Ethers reacted to generate α-N,N-difluoroamino ethers. Little direct fluorination was observed.     

Reactions of dibromotetrafluorobenzene derivatives with sodium phenoxide salts. Competing hydrodebromination and SNAr processes

1,2- and 1,3-dibromotetrafluorobenzene react with sodium phenoxide derivatives at sites para to ring bromine because these positions are activated by fluorine atoms ortho and meta to the site of nucleophilic substitution. Fluorine para to the site of nucleophilic attack is usually deactivating in nucleophilic aromatic substitution processes and this is reflected in the significantly reduced reactivity of 1,4-dibromotetrafluorobenzene which undergoes competing hydrodebromination processes to afford, primarily, 3-bromo-1,2,4,5-tetrafluorobenzene.     

cine‐Substitution Reactions of Metallabenzenes: An Experimental and Computational Study

Alkali‐resistant osmabenzene [(SCN)₂(PPh₃)₂Os{CHC(PPh₃)CHCICH}] ( 2 ) can undergo nucleophilic aromatic substitution with MeOH or EtOH to give cine‐substitution products [(SCN)₂(PPh₃)₂Os{CHC(PPh₃)CHCHCR}] (R=OMe ( 3 ), OEt( 4 )) in the presence of strong alkali. However, the reactions of compound 2 with various amines, such as n‐butylamine and aniline, afford five‐membered ring species, [(SCN)₂(PPh₃)₂Os{CH?C(PPh₃)CH?C(CH?NHR′)}] (R′=nBu( 8 ), Ph( 9 )), in addition to the desired cine‐substitution products, [(SCN)₂(PPh₃)₂Os{CHC(PPh₃)CHCHC(NHR′)}] (R′=nBu( 6 ), Ph( 7 )), under similar reaction conditions. The mechanisms of these reactions have been investigated in detail with the aid of isotopic labeling experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The results reveal that the cine‐substitution reactions occur through nucleophilic addition, dissociation of the leaving group, protonation, and deprotonation steps, which resemble the classical “addition‐of‐nucleophile, ring‐opening, ring‐closure” (ANRORC) mechanism. DFT calculations suggest that, in the reaction with MeOH, the formation of a five‐membered metallacycle species is both kinetically and thermodynamically less favorable, which is consistent with the experimental results that only the cine‐substitution product is observed. For the analogous reaction with n‐butylamine, the pathway for the formation of the cine‐substitution product is kinetically less favorable than the pathway for the formation of a five‐membered ring species, but is much more thermodynamically favorable, again consistent with the experimental conversion of compound 8 into compound 6 , which is observed in an in situ NMR experiment with an isolated pure sample of 8 .     

Iodinated carbon materials for oxygen reduction reaction in proton exchange membrane fuel cell. Scalable synthesis and electrochemical performances

Doped graphene-based cathode catalysts are considered as promising competitors for ORR, but their power density has been low compared to Pt-based cathodes, mainly due to poor mass-transport properties. A new electrocatalyst for PEMFCs, an iodine doped grahene was prepared, characterized, and tested and the results are presented in this paper. We report a hybrid derived electrocatalyst with increased electrochemical active area and enhanced mass-transport properties. The electrochemical performances of several configurations were tested and compared with a typical Pt/C cathode configuration. As a standalone catalyst, the iodine doped graphene gives a performance with 60% lower than if it is placed between gas diffusion layer and catalyst layer. If it is included as microporous layer, the electrochemical performances of the fuel cell are with 15% bigger in terms of power density than the typical fuel cell with the same Pt/C loading, proving the beneficial effect of the iodine doped graphene for the fuel cell in the ohmic and mass transfer region. Moreover, the hybrid cathode manufactured by commercial Pt/C together with the material with best proprieties, is tested in a H₂-Air fuel cell and a power density of 0.55 W cm⁻² at 0.52 V was obtained, which is superior to that of a commercial Pt-based cathode tested under identical conditions (0.46 W cm⁻²).     

Peripherally B and N substituted cyclacenes

AM1 (RHF) type semiempirical quantum chemical calculations have been applied to cyclacenes whose fusion points and peri positions of one of their peripheral circuits are substituted with nitrogen and boron, respectively. The structures have been found to be stable but endothermic (except for R=8 and 9) in nature. The nitrogen and boron (the fusion points peri positions, respectively,) substitution have been found to have stabilizing effect on the parent unsubstituted cyclacenes. Some geometrical and physicochemical data are also reported.     

Vicarious nucleophilic substitution of hydrogen versus vinylic substitution of halogen in the reactions of carbanions of halomethyl aryl sulfones with dialkyl halofumarates and halomaleates

Reaction of halomethyl aryl sulfone carbanions with dialkyl halofumarates and halomaleates results in nucleophilic substitution of hydrogen and/or of the halogen. The reaction with halofumarates proceeds via addition of the carbanions to the vinylic carbon atom connected with hydrogen, followed by base promoted β-elimination of hydrogen halide in which the halogen originates from the carbanion moiety or from the alkene. In the case of halomaleates the reaction proceeds via an elimination-addition sequence.     

Origin of the Regioselectivity in the Gas‐Phase Aniline+CH3+ Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution

Nonadiabatic ab initio molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to monitor the attack of CH₃⁺ on aniline in the gas phase to form the corresponding σ complexes. The reaction is ultrafast and is governed by a single electron transfer within 30 fs, which involves two sequential conical intersections and finally produces a radical pair. Positive‐charge allocation in the aromatic compound is found to govern the substitution pattern in ortho, meta, or para position. Although the major products in the first step of the electrophilic aromatic substitution are the ortho and para σ complexes, initially 26 % of the simulated trajectories also form meta complexes, which then undergo H shifts, mainly to the para position.