Organic Syntheses, CV 3, 185
Submitted by Jonathan L. Hartwell
Checked by H. R. Snyder and Zeno Wicks, Jr..
1. Procedure
A mixture of
127.5 g. (1 mole) of a good commercial grade of o-chloroaniline and
300 ml. (2.5 moles) of 48% hydrobromic acid (Note
1) in a
2-l. flask set in an
ice bath is cooled to 0° by the addition of ice. A solution of
70 g. (1 mole) of sodium nitrite in 125 ml. of water is added rapidly, with stirring, the temperature being kept below 10° by the addition of small pieces of ice. When only about 5 ml. of the
sodium nitrite solution remains, further additions are made cautiously until an excess of
nitrous acid remains after the last addition (Note
2).
In the meantime, a mixture of
79 g. (0.55 mole) of cuprous bromide (Note
3) and
80 ml. (0.6 mole) of 48% hydrobromic acid (Note
1) is heated to boiling in a
5-l. round-bottomed three-necked flask, equipped with a condenser set for distillation and provided with a
2-l. receiving flask, a
steam inlet tube closed by a
screw clamp, and a
separatory funnel. About one-fourth of the diazonium solution is transferred to the separatory funnel, without filtration, and immediately run into the
cuprous bromide-hydrobromic acid solution, which is kept boiling over a free flame, at such a rate that boiling is continuous. When the separatory funnel is nearly empty a further portion of the cold diazonium solution is transferred to it without interrupting the addition. All the diazonium solution is added in this way over a period of about 30 minutes, during which time much of the product steam-distils. When the addition is complete, the stopcock in the separatory funnel is closed, the screw clamp in the steam line is opened, and a vigorous current of steam is passed through the mixture until no more organic material distils. About 1–1.5 l. of distillate is collected.
The heavy organic layer is separated from the distillate and washed with
10-ml. portions of concentrated sulfuric acid until the acid becomes only slightly colored during the washings; four washings usually suffice. The oil is then washed with one 100-ml. portion of water, two
50-ml. portions of 5% aqueous sodium hydroxide, and finally with one 100-ml. portion of water. The product is dried over about
3 g. of calcium chloride and distilled from a
250-ml. distilling flask. The yield of pure, colorless
o-chlorobromobenzene, boiling at
199–201°/742 mm., is
170–183 g. (
89–95%) (Note
4) and (Note
5).
2. Notes
1. When
40% hydrobromic acid is used in both the diazotization and Sandmeyer reaction the yield is only about
75%.
2. Free
nitrous acid causes an
immediate blue color at the point of contact with starch-iodide test paper. A delayed color or a color around the periphery of the wetted area is of no significance. At all times there must be an excess of mineral acid (blue color on Congo paper).
3. The submitter used commercial
cuprous bromide. The checkers prepared
cuprous bromide by dissolving
600 g. (2.4 moles) of commercial copper sulfate crystals and
350 g. (3.4 moles) of sodium bromide in 2 l. of warm water; the solution was stirred while
151 g. (1.2 moles) of solid sodium sulfite was added over a period of 10 minutes. Occasionally a little more
sodium sulfite was required to discharge the blue color. The mixture was cooled, and the solid collected on an
8-in. Büchner funnel, washed once with water, pressed nearly dry, and then dried in the air overnight. The yield of
cuprous bromide was
320 g. (
93%).
4. Runs 3 times this size give proportional yields.
3. Discussion
This preparation is referenced from:
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