Acid-catalysed aryl hydroxylation of phenylazopyridines: reaction intermediates, kinetics and mechanism 1

Abstract

A kinetic and product analysis study of the reactions of the three isomeric phenylazopyridines (PAPys) in aqueous sulfuric acid media (30–97 wt% H2SO4) is reported. The final products obtained from the reaction of 4-(phenylazo)pyridine (4-PAPy) are the hydroxylated product 4-(4-hydroxyphenylazo)pyridine, the reduction products 4-aminophenol and 4-aminopyridine, and a small amount of a dimerized product. 3-(Phenylazo)pyridine is unreactive, but 2-(phenylazo)pyridine gives the equivalent 2-(4-hydroxyphenylazo)pyridine, 4-aminophenol and 2-aminopyridine products. This product pattern, an oxidized azo-compound and two reduced amines, is similar to that found in the disproportionation of di-p-substituted hydrazinobenzenes observed in benzidine rearrangement studies. Consequently it has been proposed that the corresponding [N′-(4-hydroxyphenylhydrazino)]pyridines were formed as reaction intermediates in the present system; this is confirmed by showing that [N′-4-(4-hydroxyphenylhydrazino)pyridine synthesized independently gave the same products as 4-PAPy under the same conditions. The kinetic study shows that the 4-isomer reacted faster than the 2-isomer at all the acid concentrations investigated (the 3-isomer being inert). Rate maxima are observed, at ≈72 wt% H2SO4 for 4-PAPy and ≈86 wt% H2SO4 for 2-PAPy. To facilitate the kinetic analysis, values of pKBH22+ for the protonation of the substrates and the possible hydroxy products at the azo-group were determined, using the excess acidity method; the first protonation occurs on the pyridine nitrogen in the pH region. An excess acidity analysis of the observed pseudo-first-order rate constants as a function of acidity indicate an A2 mechanism, with the diprotonated substrate and either one HSO4– ion or one H2O molecule in the activated complex. The proposed mechanism thus involves nucleophilic attack of HSO4– or H2O at an aryl carbon of the diprotonated substrate in the slow step, resulting in an intermediate hydrazo species which gives the observed products in a subsequent fast step (cf. benzidine rearrangement).