A probable hydrogen-bonded Meisenheimer complex: an unusually high S(N)Ar reactivity of nitroaniline derivatives with hydroxide ion in aqueous media

Observations show that nitroanilines exhibit an unusually high S(N)Ar reactivity with OH(-) in aqueous media in reactions that produce nitrophenols. S(N)Ar reaction of 4-nitroaniline (2a) in aqueous NaOH for 16 h yields 4-nitrophenol (4a) quantitatively, whereas a similar reaction of 4-nitrochlorobenzene (1a) gave 4a in 2% yield together with recovered 1a in 97%, suggesting that the leaving ability of the NH(2) group far surpasses that of Cl under these conditions. An essential feature of S(N)Ar reactions of nitroanilines is probably that the NH(2) leaving group participates in a hydrogen-bonding interaction with H(2)O. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations for a set of 4-nitroaniline, OH(-), and H(2)O suggest a possible formation of a Meisenheimer complex stabilized by hydrogen-bonding interactions and a six-membered ring structure. The results obtained here contrast with conventional S(N)Ar reactivity profiles in which nitroanilines are nearly unreactive with nucleophiles in organic solvents.