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16.0: Introduction

  • Page ID
    67324
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    Objective

    After completing this section, you should be able to identify electrophilic substitution as the single most important reaction of aromatic compounds.

    Key Terms

    Make certain that you can define, and use in context, the key terms below.

    • acylation
    • alkylation
    • electrophilic substitution
    • halogenation
    • hydroxylation
    • nitration
    • sulfonation
    Study Notes

    In this chapter, you will study all of the reactions shown in the Reaction Type table. In addition to these five reaction types, we also add a sixth common electrophilic substitution known as hydroxylation.

    benzene converts to phenol

    It is important that you recognize the similarities between these reactions to minimize the amount you must memorize.

    The six pi electrons obey Huckel's rule so benzene is especially stable. This means that the aromatic ring want to be retained during reactions. Because of this benzene does not undergo addition like other unsaturated hydrocarbons.

    Benzene reacting with a halogen does not create a non aromatic compound i.e. the halogens do not bind.

    Benzene can undergo electrophilic aromatic substitution because aromaticity is maintained.

    Benzene reacting with an electrophile does have bonding occur between the aromatic ring and the electrophile while maintaining aromaticity.

    Other Examples of Electophilic Aromatic Substitution

    Many other substitution reactions of benzene have been observed, the five most useful are listed below (chlorination and bromination are the most common halogenation reactions). Since the reagents and conditions employed in these reactions are electrophilic, these reactions are commonly referred to as Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution. The catalysts and co-reagents serve to generate the strong electrophilic species needed to effect the initial step of the substitution. The specific electrophile believed to function in each type of reaction is listed in the right hand column.

    Reaction Type Typical Equation Electrophile E(+)
    Halogenation: C6H6 + Cl2 & heat
    FeCl3 catalyst
    ——>  C6H5Cl + HCl
    Chlorobenzene
    Cl(+) or Br(+)
    Nitration: C6H6 + HNO3 & heat
    H2SO4 catalyst
    ——>  C6H5NO2 + H2O
    Nitrobenzene
    NO2(+)
    Sulfonation: C6H6 + H2SO4 + SO3
    & heat
    ——>  C6H5SO3H + H2O
    Benzenesulfonic acid
    SO3H(+)
    Alkylation:
    Friedel-Crafts
    C6H6 + R-Cl & heat
    AlCl3 catalyst
    ——>  C6H5-R + HCl
    An Arene
    R(+)
    Acylation:
    Friedel-Crafts
    C6H6 + RCOCl & heat
    AlCl3 catalyst
    ——>  C6H5COR + HCl
    An Aryl Ketone
    RCO(+)

    Contributors and Attributions


    16.0: Introduction is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.