The chemical reactivity and molecular structure of 4,6-Dinitro-2-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl) benzotriazole 1-oxide. A new heterocyclic super-electrophile

Abstract

The first preparation of the title compound (3) is reported and its reactivity with nucleophiles examined. Attack occurs at both the benzotriazole and the picryl ring moieties, the former process giving rise to spectrally observable Meisenheimer type σ-complexes, the latter to displacement. The results allow comparison to be drawn with the behaviour of 4,6-dinitrobenzofuroxan, which also acts as a super-electrophile. The structure of (3) has been determined from three-dimensional X-ray data collected from a single crystal. The material crystallized in space group Pbca of the orthorhombic system with eight molecules in a cell of dimensions a 16.050, b 11.478, c 17.823 A; V 3283.5 ų.