BRAINCAKEFriedel-Crafts Acylation
Friedel-Crafts acylation joins an acyl group, RCO, to a benzene ring. It is an electrophilic substitution and is an important way of forming a new carbon-carbon bond to an aromatic ring.
Reagents: benzene and an acyl chloride, RCOCl.
Catalyst: aluminium chloride, AlCl3.
Conditions: heat under reflux in anhydrous (dry) conditions. Water must be kept out because it reacts with AlCl3 and with the acyl chloride.
The product is an aromatic ketone (a phenylketone), and hydrogen chloride is given off. With ethanoyl chloride:
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Key terms in this lesson
- electrophilic substitution
- A reaction in which an electrophile replaces an atom, usually hydrogen, on an aromatic ring, keeping the delocalised ring intact.
More in Aromatic Chemistry
- The Delocalised Model of Benzene
- Evidence for Delocalisation - Enthalpy of Hydrogenation
- Naming Aromatic Compounds
- Electrophilic Substitution
- Nitration of Benzene
- Mechanism of Nitration
- Uses of Nitration
- Mechanism of Friedel-Crafts Acylation
All 11 lessons in Aromatic Chemistry · All AQA A-level Chemistry topics