Variation of isomer distribution in electrophilic nitration of toluene, anisole, and o-xylene: Independence of high regioselectivity from reactivity of reagent

Nitration of aromatics with dinitrogen pentoxide in a liquefied 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane medium

Regardless of the sustainable development path, today, there are highly demanded chemical productions still operating that bear environmental and technological risks inherited from the previous century. The fabrication of nitro compounds, and nitroarenes in particular, is traditionally associated with acidic wastes formed in nitration reactions exploiting mixed acids. However, nitroarenes are indispensable for industrial and military applications. We faced the challenge and developed a greener, safer, and yet effective method for the production of nitroaromatics. The proposed approach comprises the application of an eco-friendly nitrating agent, namely dinitrogen pentoxide (DNP), in the medium of liquefied 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (TFE) – one of the most non-hazardous Freons. Importantly, the used TFE is not emitted into the atmosphere but is effortlessly recondensed and returned into the process. DNP is obtained via the oxidation of dinitrogen tetroxide with ozone. The elaborated method is characterized by high yields of the targeted nitro arenes, mild reaction conditions, and minimal amount of easy-to-utilize wastes.

A green, safe, and economical method for the production of nitroaromatics is developed. The method comprises the use of the eco-friendly nitrating agent, dinitrogen pentoxide, and liquefied 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane as the reusable reaction medium.

Dynamics and the Regiochemistry of Nitration of Toluene

The regiochemistry of the nitration of toluene by NO₂⁺BF₄^- in dichloromethane is accurately predicted from trajectories in explicit solvent. Simpler models and approaches based on transition state theory fail to account for the selectivity. Potential of mean force calculations find no free-energy barrier for reaction of the toluene/NO₂⁺BF₄^- encounter complex, yet the trajectories require an extraordinary 3 ps to descend an exergonic slope. The selectivity is decided late in long trajectories because their completion requires solvent and counterion reorganization. The normal descriptive understanding of the regiochemistry based on transition-state energies is unsupported.

Highly efficient Friedel–Crafts-type benzylation via benzyl cations generated in multiple spacer-molecule separated ion-pairs

Deamination, as a facile route to highly reactive carbocations, is of interest to several areas of organic chemistry, industry, and medicine. The reactivity and utility of these carbocations derives from the presence of a lone nitrogenous entity (N(2) or N(2)O) interposed between the ion-pair. We report here the synthesis of a new deamination precursor whose nitrosation and subsequent decomposition constitutes a novel deamination method. In this novel approach, multiple spacer-molecules are generated in the inter-ion space. The resultant cations are exceedingly reactive but are longer-lived than carbocations derived from standard deaminations. The result is nearly quantitative yields of solvent-derived products from even poorly nucleophilic solvents such as benzene, toluene, and mesitylene.

NO(2)(+) nitration mechanism of aromatic compounds: electrophilic vs charge-transfer process

The nitration of methylnaphthalenes with NO(2)BF(4) and NOBF(4) was examined in order to shed light on the controversial aromatic nitration mechanism, electrophilic vs charge-transfer process. The NO(2)(+) nitration of 1,8-dimethylnaphthalene showed a drastic regioselectivity change depending on the reaction temperature, where ortho-regioselectivity at -78 degrees C and para-regioselectivity at 0 degrees C were considered to reflect the electrophilic and the direct or alternative charge-transfer process, respectively, because the NO(+) nitration through the same reaction intermediates as in the NO(2)(+) nitration via a charge-transfer process resulted in para-regioselectivity regardless of the reaction temperature. The NO(2)(+) nitration of redox potential methylnaphthalenes higher than 1,8-dimethylnaphthalene gave a similar ortho-regioselectivity enhancement to 1,8-dimethylnaphthalene at lower temperature, thus reflecting the electrophilic process. On the other hand, the NO(2)(+) nitration of redox potential methylnaphthalenes lower than 1,8-dimethylnaphthalene showed para-regioselectivity similar to the NO(+) nitration, indicating the direct or alternative charge-transfer process. In the presence of strong acids where the direct charge-transfer process will be suppressed by protonation, the ortho-regioselectivity enhancement was observed in the NO(2)(+) nitration of 1,8-dimethylnaphthalene, suggesting that the direct charge-transfer process could be the main process to show para-regioselectivity. These experimental results imply that the NO(2)(+) nitration proceeds via not only electrophilic but also direct charge-transfer processes, which has been considered to be unlikely because of the high energy demanding process of a bond coordination change between NO(2)(+) and NO(2). Theoretical studies at the MP2/6-31G(d) level predicted ortho- and para-regioselectivity for the NO(2)(+) nitration via electrophilic and charge-transfer processes, respectively, and the preference of the direct charge-transfer process over the alternative one, which support the experimental conclusion