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Reactions at the Benzylic Position: Oxidation and Reduction00:59

Reactions at the Benzylic Position: Oxidation and Reduction

The benzylic position describes the position of a carbon atom attached directly to a benzene ring. Benzene by itself does not undergo oxidation. In contrast, the benzylic carbon is quite reactive in the presence of strong oxidizing agents such as KMnO4 or H2CrO4. Therefore, alkylbenzenes are readily oxidized to benzoic acid, irrespective of the type of alkyl groups.
Directing and Steric Effects in Disubstituted Benzene Derivatives01:18

Directing and Steric Effects in Disubstituted Benzene Derivatives

When disubstituted benzenes undergo electrophilic substitution, the product distribution depends on the directing effect of both substituents. When the directing effects of both substituents reinforce each other, a single product is obtained. For example, bromination of p-nitrotoluene occurs ortho to the methyl group and meta to the nitro group, which is the same position, resulting in a single product. However, if the directing effects of the two groups oppose each other, the more strongly...
Nomenclature of Aromatic Compounds with Multiple Substituents01:11

Nomenclature of Aromatic Compounds with Multiple Substituents

When more than one substituent is present on the benzene ring, the IUPAC nomenclature depends on the number of substituents present.
For disubstituted benzene derivatives, with two groups attached to the benzene ring, three constitutional isomers are possible. For example, consider dimethyl benzene, often called xylene, where the second methyl group can be substituted at the second, third, or fourth carbon. The relative position of the substituents is represented by prefixes ortho, meta, or...
Hydrolysis of Chlorobenzene to Phenol: Dow Process01:10

Hydrolysis of Chlorobenzene to Phenol: Dow Process

Simple aryl halides do not react with nucleophiles under normal conditions. However, the reaction can proceed under drastic conditions involving high temperatures and high pressure to give the substituted products. For example, chlorobenzene is converted to phenol using aqueous sodium hydroxide at 350 °C under high pressure by the Dow process. The reaction follows an elimination-addition mechanism involving a benzyne intermediate. Here, the chloride ion is eliminated to generate the benzyne...
Structure of Benzene: Molecular Orbital Model01:18

Structure of Benzene: Molecular Orbital Model

According to the molecular orbital (MO) model, benzene has a planar structure with a regular hexagon of six sp2 hybridized carbons. As shown in Figure 1, each carbon is bonded to three other atoms with C–C–C and H–C–C bond angles of 120°. The C–H bond length is 109 pm, and the C–C bond length is 139 pm which is midway between the single bond length of sp3 hybridized carbons (154 pm) and sp2 hybridized carbons (133 pm).
Structure of Benzene: Kekulé Model01:07

Structure of Benzene: Kekulé Model

In 1865, August Kekule suggested the structure of benzene according to the structural theory of organic chemistry based on the three assertions—formula of benzene is C6H6, all the hydrogens of benzene are equivalent, and each carbon must have four bonds due to its tetravalency.
He proposed that benzene has a cyclic structure of six carbon atoms attached to one hydrogen atom each, with three alternating pi bonds.