Orientation in metal ammonia reductions

The unique orientation effects observed in the alkali metal-ammonia reactions of aromatic compounds are considered from a molecular orbital viewpoint. The Birch rule governing the reduction of substituted aromatics, the peculiar effect of substituents on the ease of hydrogenolysis of benzyl alcohols, the similar effect in the dealkylation and dearylation of alkyl aryl ethers and aryl ethers, the course of dealkoxylation of alkyl aryl ethers, are all found to be reasonably accommodated by molecular orbital theory.