Nitration and sulfonation the benzene are two instances of electrophilic aromatic substitution. The nitronium ion (NO2+) and also sulfur trioxide (SO3) room the electrophiles and also individually react v benzene to provide nitrobenzene and benzenesulfonic mountain respectively.
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Nitration of Benzene
The resource of the nitronium ion is through the protonation that nitric mountain by sulfuric acid, which causes the lose of a water molecule and also formation the a nitronium ion.
Sulfuric acid Activation of Nitric Acid
The very first step in the nitration the benzene is to activate HNO3with sulfuric mountain to produce a stronger electrophile, the nitronium ion.
Because the nitronium ion is a an excellent electrophile, it is struck by benzene to develop Nitrobenzene.
Mechanism
(Resonance forms of the intermediate can be seen in the generalized electrophilic fragrant substitution)
Sulfonation that Benzene
Sulfonation is a reversible reaction that produces benzenesulfonic acid by including sulfur trioxide and also fuming sulfuric acid. The reaction is reversed by adding hot aqueous mountain to benzenesulfonic acid to produce benzene.
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Reverse Sulfonation
Sulfonation of benzene is a reversible reaction. Sulfur trioxide easily reacts v water to create sulfuric acid and heat. Therefore, by adding heat come benzenesulfonic acid in diluted aqueous sulfuric mountain the reaction is reversed.
benzene can be nitrated with a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids.