BRAINCAKEFriedel-Crafts Alkylation
Friedel-Crafts alkylation substitutes an alkyl group onto a benzene ring, forming a new C-C bond. It is an electrophilic substitution.
Reagents and conditions: a halogenoalkane (e.g. chloroethane) with an anhydrous aluminium chloride catalyst, AlCl3, heated under reflux. The conditions must be dry, because AlCl3 reacts with water.
Generating the electrophile: AlCl3 is a halogen carrier. It accepts a lone pair from the chlorine atom of the halogenoalkane and removes it, forming a carbocation:
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Key terms in this lesson
- carbocation
- A positively charged carbon species with only three bonds and an empty orbital.
More in Arenes
- Combustion of Benzene
- Electrophilic Substitution
- Bromination of Benzene
- Nitration of Benzene
- Friedel-Crafts Acylation
- Phenol
- Reaction of Phenol with Bromine Water
- Why Phenol is More Reactive than Benzene
All 13 lessons in Arenes · All Edexcel A-level Chemistry topics