Styrene → 1,1-Diphenylethane

Participants

Reaction Steps

One known synthesis of this odorant is based on the Friedel-Crafts reaction of styrene with benzene (see Spilker and Schade, Chem. Berichte, 65 (1932), 1686. The product 1,1-diphenylethane was obtained in only 25% yield. Other procedures described in the literature, for example the reaction of benzyl chloride with toluene and cupric chlorides as catalysts (U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,760) or the oxidative coupling of ethylbenzene and benzene with a catalyst consisting of aluminum and cupric chlorides (U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,211) produce only low yields and/or require costly starting materials, so that industrial use is not practical.

Provenance & Evidence