OF 9-Azid0feu0aen2
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THE M20HANISM OF- TIG K3TQNIG SCmilDT REACTION AND KIHLTICS OF THE ACID-CATALYSED REARRÂI^GEMENT OF 9-AZID0FEU0aEN2 being a thesis submitted to the University of London for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Science by John Vineent Evans, B.Sc. (Lend.) Battersea College of Technology January, 1958. C) ; ProQuest Number: 10804731 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uesL ProQuest 10804731 Published by ProQuest LLO (2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLO. ProQuest LLO. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.Q. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Fluor enone, dis solved in 96 and 100 % sulphuric acid, has been allowed to react with sodium aside and the resultant mixtures diluted with both water and anhydrous methanol • 9-Methoxyphenanthridine,the product to be expected from nucleophilic attack by the methanol,was not formed and phenanthridine was obtained in good yield from all experiments. The formation of this compound both under anhydrous conditions and in the presence of water shows Smith's mechanism for the kotonic Schmidt reaction, which involves dehydration to a Beckmann-type intermediate and subsequent rehydration, to be unlikely. l\n alternative mechanism involving a hydrogen- bonded cyclic intermediate is suggested. The rate of decomposition of 9-azidofluorene in anhydrous sulphuric-acetic acid has been followed by the measurement of the evolution of nitrogen under constant-pressure conditions. Determination of initial rates and times for half and seven-tenths reaction showed the decomposition to be substantially of the first order both in azide-concentration, with values of 1.09, 1.04, and 1.02, and in acid-strength of the solution, as given by ( negative antilogarithm of Mammetts 4cidity Function ), with values 1.03, 1.07, and 1.09 . The activation energy of the reaction, measured between 25° and 45° was found to be approximately 23.4 kcal./mole. A mechanism for the acid-catalysed rearrangement of 9-azidofluorene to phenanthridine is put forward in which reaction proceeds via the decomposition and rearrangement of the mono-protonated azide (v/hich probably exists largely as the ion-pair with bisulphate ion) present in equilibrium with the more stable non-protonatod azide. The evidence for simultaneity of rearrangement and nitrogen-release is discussed both for the above azide and for the diarylazido-methanes and -ethanes which have been investigated by McEwen and his co-workers. The work described in this Thesis was carried out in the laboratories of the Chemistry Department, Battersea Polytechnic, under the supervision of Dr. C. L. Arcus* The writer wishes to express his sincere appreciation of the help and encouragement received from Dr. C. L. Arcus. PREFACE. The subject matter of this Thesis has, for the sake of convenience, been divided into three topics, each dealt with in a separate part with its own introduction, discussion, and experimental. In addition to the intro ductions to each topic a general historical introduction to the work as a whole is also included. CONTENTS Historical Introduction The Schmidt and Certain Related Reactions..................... 1 The Mechanism of the Schmidt and Certain Related Reactions...2 Part I Hydration of the Ketonic Schmidt Reaction Introduction................ 24 Object of the Work ................ .25 Description of the Work............. 26 Discussion................. 28 Experimental Fluorenone, Preparation of ....... ....37 , Recovery of from Sulphuric Acid Solutions....37 , Schmidt Reaction With........ ............ ..39 , Schmidt Reaction With, Using Methanol Quenching...,.39 Sulphuric Acid 100^.................. 38 9-Methoxyphenanthridine, Preparation of Phenanthridine ............ .41 9-Chlorophenanthrid ine ...... ...42 9-Methoxyphenanthridine. ..................43 , Recovery of from a Methanol- . Sulphuric AcidMixture .......... 43 Part II A Study of the Aold-Catalysed Decomposition of 9-Azidofluorene Introduction. ........................ 45 Object of the Work ..... ..52 Description of the Investigation Preparation of Reagents and Preliminary Decomposition....53 Quantitative Rate Measurements......................... .,58 Treatment of Result s ..... .63 Sulphuric-Acetic Acid Solutions Properties of Sulphuric-Acetic Acid Solutions............ 67 Acidity Functions ................. 74 Application of Ho to Sulphuric-Acetic Acid Solutions.....78 Acidity Function and Reaction Rate........................83 Discussion Mechanism of the Decomposition of 9-Azidofluorene in Sulphuric-Acetic Acid Solution.90 Mechanics of the 9-Azidofluorene Rearrangement........... 94 Inference as to the Mechanism of thé Acid-Catalysed Reaction between Fluoren-9-ol and HN^.;.......97 Related Work............................ .102 Experimental Preparation of Reagents [l] Fluoren-9-ol ....... 112 Reduction of Fluorenone with Sodium Amalgam Reduction of Fluorenone with Aluminium Iso- Propoxide. [ II] 9-Chlorofluorene ........... 115 [ill] 9-Azidofluorene................... 115 Reaction of Sodium Azide and 9-Chlorofluorene Attempted Reaction of Hydrazoic Acid with Fluoren .-9-ol in the Presence of Trichloroacetic Acid Phenanthridine............. 117 Anhydrous Sulphuric Acid ......... .118 Anhydrous Acetic Acid........ ..121 Preliminary Acid-Catalysed Decomposition Experiments on 9-Azidofluorene.......123 Preliminary Quantitative Rate Measurements................. 127 Quantitative Rate Measurements Apparatus - - - - Gas Measuring Apparatus. ...... .127 Nitrometer Standardisât ion...... .130 Reaction Vessel ......... .132 Standardisation of Thermometers ..... .134 Standardisation of Stop-Watches..........................135 Experimental Procedure for Quantitative Runs............... 136 Treatment of Results Products of the Decomposition........... .....139 Effect of Phenanthridine on the Reaction Rate........... 143 Initial Temperature Rise................ ... *...... ......143 Init ial Gas-Evolut ion ..... *........... 146 Corrections to the Gas Volume............... .149 Calculation of Kinetic Results.......................... 150 Results of the Quantitative Rate Measurements Preliminary Rate Measurements........................... 157 Variation of Initial Azide Concentration............... 159 Variation of Sulphuric Acid Concentration..............161 Variation of Reaction Temperature,...................... 163 Individual Runs...... .165 Part III The Thermal Decomposition of 9-Azidofluorone Introduct ion...... 185 Object of the Present Work..................... ,186 Description of the Work. ...... ........187 Discussion. ................... ,188 Experimental Thermal Decomposition of 9-Azidofluorùne..............,.190 Thermal Decomposition of 9-Azidofluorene in Styrene Solution..190 Thermal Decomposition of a Styrene Solution of 9-Azid.o- flporonc in the Presence of t-Butylhydroperoxide......191 Attempted Condensation of 9-Azidofluorene with Styrene.192 Addendum to the Experimental Sections Melting-points 193 Mixed Melt ing-point s, ................ .193 Bibliography....... 194 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION — 1 — HISTORICAL INTRODUGTION The Sclimidt and Certain Related Reactions. Whilst carrying out studies on the reactions of the imine radical in 1923, Karl Friedrich Schmidt (1, 2, 3), introduced benzophenone into a reaction mixture containing hydrazoic and sulphuric acid. A vigorous reaction ensued, yielding nitrogen and a quantitative amount of benzanilide, this being the first example of the Schmidt reaction. The latter class of reactions is now taken to cover the action o i equimolar quantities of hydrazoic acid on carbonyl compounds in the presence of strong acid*: aldehydes yield nitriles and formyl derivatives of aminesj ketones form amides. R.CO.R + HHg --- ^ R.CO.NHR + Ng R.CHO + HNg H.CO.NHR + R.CN + Ng + HgO The modified carbonyl group of a carboxylic acid is also available for reaction with hydrazoic acid in a Schmidt reaction# R.COOH + ENg —— R.NHg + COg + Ng It was in this form that the Schmidt reaction attracted most attention as it offers an alternative to the Hofmann or Curtius -2- reactlon In the degradation of a carboxylic acid to an amine with one less carbon atom. As a one stage process it was a superior method. Analogous to the Schmidt reaction is the formation of ketimines by the interaction of hydrazoic acid with certain alcohols and olefins in the presence of a strong acid. R.CHOH.R + HNg --- ^ R.CH = N,R + HgO + Ng Rg .0 = CHg + HNg R r- C - CHg + 11 N - R The large number of compounds which react with hydrazoic acid in the presence of a strong acid with the introduction of an HH group into the molecule, with or without loss of carbondioxide, has given the reaction many uses both for preparative synthesis, and as a degradation agent for the elucidation of complex structures. The Mechanism of the Sphmidt and Certain Related React]ons. The first tentative mechanism for the Schmidt reaction was put forward by K. P. Schmidt after his studies on the imine radical NH , formed by the acid decomposition of hydrazoic acid. On decomposing hydrazoic acid in the presence of concentrated sulphuric acid and