Synthesis 2017; 49(15): 3247-3254
DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1588444
short review
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

How Does Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution in Nitroarenes Really Proceed: General Mechanism

Mieczysław Mąkosza
Institute of Organic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, /ul. Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland   Email: icho-s@icho.edu.pl
› Author Affiliations
This work was supported by the National Science Centre (Grant No. UMO-2014/15/B/ST5/021800).
Further Information

Publication History

Received: 27 April 2017

Accepted: 08 May 2017

Publication Date:
06 June 2017 (online)


Dedicated to Professor Herbert Mayr on the occasion of his 70th birthday

Abstract

On the basis of previously published experimental studies and ab initio calculations, a general corrected mechanism of nucleophilic aromatic substitution was formulated. It was shown that conventional nucleophilic substitution of halogens is a slow secondary reaction whereas nucleophilic substitution of hydrogen is the fast primary process. The general mechanism embraces both of these alternative and complementary reactions.