Benzene → 1-(4-Bromophenyl)-2-phenylethanone

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Reaction Steps

Benzene (200 mL) and aluminum chloride (74 g, 0.558 mol) are mixed into a flask and the mixture of 4-bromophenylacetyl chloride and benzene in Step (a) is added dropwise allowing the reaction to evolve HCl. The reaction mixture is stirred at room temperature for 1 to 1.5 hours and poured into ice water. Ethyl acetate (1 L) is added to dissolve the precipitated solids. The layers are separated and the organic layer is washed successively with 1 M aqueous HCl, saturated aqueous NaHCO3, brine and then dried over Na2SO2. The solvent is then evaporated to give a solid material which is recrystallized from ethylacetate/hexanes to give the title compound in 84% yield as a yellow solid.

Provenance & Evidence