Use of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to Follow the Heterocumulene Aided Thermal Dehydration of Phthalic and Naphthalic Acids

Abstract

Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy has been successfully employed to follow the formation of phthalic anhydride and 1,8-naphthalic anhydride on heating their corresponding acids. The effects of three heterocumulenes, cyanamide, dicyandiamide, and sodium cyanate, on the temperature of formation of the anhydrides were also investigated using this method. It was found that the carbodiimides cyanamide and dicyandiamide dramatically lowered the temperature at which thermal dehydration of the acid led to anhydride formation. It was noted that cyanamide had a stronger catalytic effect than dicyandiamide, presumably due to the electron-withdrawing effect of the amidine group. Sodium cyanate was also found to promote the thermal dehydration of the acids to form the corresponding anhydrides. Under more severe conditions, phthalic acid anhydride formed is seen to react further, leading to the formation of phthalimide. The discrepancy between the products obtained with cyanamide and sodium cyanate leads to the conclusion that, unlike earlier claims, imide formation is not due to the reaction of the anhydride with the urea formed but with sodium cyanate itself. However, only the phthalic anhydride five-membered ring system is sufficiently reactive towards the CNO− nucleophile to form the imide; the six-membered 1,8-naphthalic anhydride system does not react in this way.