Why do methyl groups make benzene more reactive?

Methylbenzene (toluene) is more reactive because the methyl group is electron donating (positive inductive effect) and thus makes the benzene ring more electron rich and so a better nucleophile to attack electrophiles in electrophilic substitution reactions.

What happens when methyl benzene is treated with bromine?

The bromination of benzene is an example of an electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction. In this reaction, the electrophile (bromine) forms a sigma bond to the benzene ring, yielding an intermediate. Then, a proton is removed from the intermediate to form a substituted benzene ring.

What happens when methyl benzene reacts with chlorine?

Benzene reacts with chlorine or bromine in the presence of a catalyst, replacing one of the hydrogen atoms on the ring by a chlorine or bromine atom. The reactions happen at room temperature. The catalyst is either aluminum chloride (or aluminum bromide if you are reacting benzene with bromine) or iron.

How is methyl benzene made?

Benzene is the fundamental building block of aromatic compounds. It, and the methylbenzenes (toluene and the xylenes), are manufactured from fractions obtained from the distillation of oil and are used as intermediates in the production of a very wide range of chemicals as well as in petrol.

What is the effect of methyl group on benzene?

Methylbenzene is more reactive than benzene because of the tendency of the methyl group to “push” electrons towards the ring. The effect of this greater reactivity is that methylbenzene will react with fuming sulfuric acid at 0°C, and with concentrated sulfuric acid if they are heated under reflux for about 5 minutes.

How is methyl benzene made from benzene?

Benzene reacts at room temperature with a chloroalkane (for example, chloromethane or chloroethane) in the presence of aluminium chloride as a catalyst. On this page, we will look at substituting a methyl group, but any other alkyl group could be used in the same way. Substituting a methyl group gives methylbenzene.

Why benzene does not react with bromine?

The six electrons in the π-system above and below the plane of the benzene ring are delocalised over the six carbon atoms, so the electron density is lower. The bromine cannot be polarised sufficiently to react, and the lower electron density does not attract the electrophile so strongly.

How can you distinguish between benzene and cyclohexane?

The main difference between cyclohexane and benzene is that cyclohexane contains twelve hydrogen atoms bonded to six carbon atoms, two hydrogen atoms per each carbon atom whereas benzene contains six hydrogen atoms bonded to six carbon atoms, one hydrogen atom per each carbon atom.

When methyl benzene reacts with cl2 in presence of sunlight it forms?

Benzene reacts with chlorine in presence of sunlight to give gammexane or benzene hexa chloride.

Can benzene give addition reaction?

In benzene, the π-electrons are delocalised and makes the structure more stable. Delocalization of π electron is called resonance. Thus, benzene does not give addition reactions because of resonance stabilisation.

What happens when methyl benzene reacts with alkaline kmno4?

Methylbenzene is heated under reflux with a solution of potassium manganate(VII) made alkaline with sodium carbonate. The purple colour of the potassium manganate(VII) is eventually replaced by a dark brown precipitate of manganese(IV) oxide.

What happens when benzene reacts with methylbenzene?

With benzene: . . . and methylbenzene: These reactions destroy the electron delocalisation in the original benzene ring, because those electrons are being used to form bonds with the new hydrogen atoms.

What is the mechanism of reaction between methylbenzene and nitric acid?

Reacting methylbenzene with a mixture of concentrated nitric and sulphuric acids gives both 2-nitromethylbenzene and 4-nitromethylbenzene. The mechanism is exactly the same as the nitration of benzene. You just have to be careful about the way that you draw the structure of the intermediate ion.

What is the free radical substitution reaction between methylbenzene and chlorine?

This page gives you the facts and a simple, uncluttered mechanism for the free radical substitution reaction between methylbenzene (previously known as toluene) and chlorine. Methylbenzene has a methyl group attached to a benzene ring. The hexagon with the circle inside is the standard symbol for this ring.

What happens when chlorine and bromine react with methylbenzene?

With bromine, you would get the equivalent bromine compounds. If chlorine or bromine react with boiling methylbenzene in the absence of a catalyst but in the presence of UV light, substitution happens in the methyl group rather than the ring. For example, with chlorine (bromine would be similar): The organic product is (chloromethyl)benzene.