Nitration of arenes by 1-sulfopyridinium nitrate as an ionic liquid and reagent by in situ generation of NO2

Abstract

1-Sulfopyridinium nitrate was synthesized as a potent nitrating agent for the nitration of arenes without the need for any co-catalysts. A variety of nitro compounds were synthesized and fully characterized by IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal gravimetry (DTG), CHN analysis and mass spectroscopy. Mechanistically, in situ generated nitrogen dioxide as a radical from the reagent is proposed for the presented nitration protocol.