The nitration of benzene is an example of an electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction. It involves the formation of a very powerful electrophile, the nitronium ion, which is linear in shape. The reaction occurs through the interaction of two strong acids, sulfuric and nitric acid.

Nitrous acid, a weak acid, is prepared in situ via the reaction of sodium nitrite with a strong acid under cold conditions. This nitrous acid prepared in situ reacts with primary arylamines to form arenediazonium salts. Such reactions are known as diazotization reactions. As shown in Figure 1, the formation of arenediazonium salts begins with the decomposition of nitrous acid in an acidic solution to give nitrosonium ions.

Benzylic halogenation takes place under conditions that favor radical reactions such as heat, light, or a free radical initiator like peroxide.

Simple aryl halides do not react with nucleophiles. However, nucleophilic aromatic substitutions can be forced under certain conditions, such as high temperatures or strong bases. The mechanism of substitution under such conditions involves the highly unstable and reactive benzyne intermediate. Benzyne contains equivalent carbon centers at both ends of the triple bond, each of which is equally susceptible to nucleophilic attack. This 50–50 distribution of products is confirmed through isotopic...

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...

Chlorination and bromination are important classes of electrophilic aromatic substitutions, where benzene reacts with chlorine or bromine in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst to give halogenated substitution products. A Lewis acid such as aluminium chloride or ferric chloride catalyzes the chlorination, and ferric bromide catalyzes the bromination reactions. During the bromination of alkenes, bromine polarizes and becomes electrophilic. However, in the bromination of benzene, the bromine...