The structures of aromatic polycyclic compounds

Abstract

Various bromonitro derivatives of acenaphthene, fluorene, and diphenyl have been prepared and the reactivities of the bromine atoms towards piperidine measured.With the exception of those diphenyl derivatives in which the bromo and nitro groups occupied positions in different rings, the results are in accordance with Fuson's vinylogy theory.In some instances the results have been used to shed light on the arrangement of double bonds in aromatic compounds.A comparison has also been made of the reactivities of the bromine atoms in the bromonitrobenzenes with those of the bromonitrotoluenes, the results indicating that the presence of another substituent in the ring modifies the halogen activity to a various extent depending on the position of the substituent.An unsuccessful attempt to study the problem of the structure of naphthalene by another method has also been described.