N-Halosuccinimide/BF3-H2O, efficient electrophilic halogenating systems for aromatics

N-Halosuccinimides (NXS, 1) are efficiently activated in trifluoromethanesulfonic acid and BF3-H2O, allowing the halogenations of deactivated aromatics. Because BF3-H2O is more economic, easy to prepare, nonoxidizing, and offers sufficiently high acidity (-H-0 approximate to 12, only slightly lower than that of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid), an efficient new electrophilic reagent combination of NXS/BF3-H2O has been developed. DFT calculations at the B3LYP/6-311++G**//B3LYP/6-31G* level suggest that protonated N-halosuccinimides undergo further protosolvation at higher acidities to reactive superelectrophilic species capable either in the transfer of X+ from the protonated forms of NXS to the aromatic substrate or in forming a highly reactive and solvated X+ which would readily react with the aromatic substrates. Structural aspects of the BF3-H2O complex have also been investigated.