Computational Study for the Aromatic Nucleophilic Substitution Reaction on 1-Dimethylamino-2,4-bis(trifluoroacetyl)-naphthalene with Amines

Our previous research showed that aliphatic amines were put in order of high reactivity as “ethylamine > ammonia > t-butylamine > diethylamine” on the aromatic nucleophilic substitution of 1-dimetylamino-2,4-bis(trifluoroacetyl)-naphthalene 1 in acetonitrile. The DFT calculation study (B3LYP/6-31G* with solvation model) for the reactions of 1 with above four amines rationally explained the difference of each amines reactivity based on the energies of their Meisenheimer complexes 3 which are assumed to formed as the reaction intermediates in the course of the reaction giving the corresponding N-N exchange products 2. Intramolecular hydrogen bond between amino proton in 1-amino group and carbonyl oxygen in 2-trifluoroacetyl group stabilizes Meisenheimer complexes 3 effectively, and accelerates the substitution reaction from 1 to 2. Our calculation results also predicted that the above order of amines is also true if less polar toluene is used as a solvent instead of acetonitrile even though more enhanced conditions are required.