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16.1: Limitations on Electrophilic Substitution Reactions with Substituted Benzenes

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    30762
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    Over reaction of Aniline and Phenol

    The strongest activating and ortho/para-directing substituents are the amino (-NH2) and hydroxyl (-OH) groups. Direct nitration of phenol (hydroxybenzene) by dilute nitric acid gives modest yields of nitrated phenols and considerable oxidative decomposition to tarry materials; aniline (aminobenzene) is largely destroyed. Bromination of both phenol and aniline is difficult to control, with di- and tri-bromo products forming readily. Because of their high nucleophilic reactivity, aniline and phenol undergo substitution reactions with iodine, a halogen that is normally unreactive with benzene derivatives. The mixed halogen iodine chloride (ICl) provides a more electrophilic iodine moiety, and is effective in iodinating aromatic rings having less powerful activating substituents.

    C6H5–NH2 + I2 + NaHCO3 p-I–C6H4–NH2 + NaI + CO2 + H2O

    By acetylating the heteroatom substituent on phenol and aniline, its activating influence can be substantially attenuated. For example, acetylation of aniline gives acetanilide (first step in the following equation), which undergoes nitration at low temperature, yielding the para-nitro product in high yield. The modifying acetyl group can then be removed by acid-catalyzed hydrolysis (last step), to yield para-nitroaniline. Although the activating influence of the amino group has been reduced by this procedure, the acetyl derivative remains an ortho/para-directing and activating substituent.


    C6H5–NH2 + (CH3CO)2O
    pyridine (a base)

    C6H5–NHCOCH3
    HNO3 , 5 ºC

    p-O2N–C6H4–NHCOCH3
    H3O(+) & heat

    p-O2N–C6H4–NH
    The following diagram illustrates how the acetyl group acts to attenuate the overall electron donating character of oxygen and nitrogen. The non-bonding valence electron pairs that are responsible for the high reactivity of these compounds (blue arrows) are diverted to the adjacent carbonyl group (green arrows). However, the overall influence of the modified substituent is still activating and ortho/para-directing.acdeact1.gif
    http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/@api/deki/files/7904/acdeact2.gif

    Some limitations of Friedel-Crafts AlkylationEdit section

    There are possibilities of carbocation rearrangements when you are trying to add a carbon chain greater than two carbons. The rearrangements occur due to hydride shifts and methyl shifts. For example, the product of a Friedel-Crafts Alkylation will show an iso rearrangement when adding a three carbon chain as a substituent. One way to resolve these problems is through Friedel-Crafts Acylation.

    Also, the reaction will only work if the ring you are adding a substituent to is not deactivated. Friedel-Crafts fails when used with compounds such as nitrobenzene and other strong deactivating systems.

    Friedel-Crafts reactions cannot be preformed then the aromatic ring contains a NH2, NHR, or NR2 substituent. The lone pair electrons on the amines react with the Lewis acid AlCl3. This places a positive charge next to the benzene ring, which is so strongly activating that the Friedel-Crafts reaction cannot occur.

    Lastly, Friedel-Crafts alkylation can undergo polyalkylation. The reaction adds an electron donating alkyl group, which activates the benzene ring to further alkylation.

    This problem does not occure during Friedel-Crafts Acylation because an acyl group is deactivating. The prevents further actylations.

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    16.1: Limitations on Electrophilic Substitution Reactions with Substituted Benzenes is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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