Benzene

Overview

A delocalised aromatic ring and the parent arene.

Benzene undergoes electrophilic substitution while retaining its aromatic ring, and burns with a smoky flame in limited air.

Identifiers

Formula

C6H6

Functional group

arene

Molar mass

78.11 g/mol

Also known as

benzol, C6H6

Properties

Melting Point

5.558 °C

Boiling Point

80.08 °C

Density

0.8756 g/cu cm at 20 °C

Water solubility

In water, 1.79X10+3 mg/L at 25 °C

Connected reactions

• Combustion: Benzene → Carbon dioxide

  Benzene combusts to carbon dioxide and water and tends to burn with a smoky flame.

• Bromination: Benzene → Halogenoarenes

  Benzene undergoes bromination with a halogen carrier catalyst to form bromobenzene.

• Nitration: Benzene → Nitroarenes

  Benzene is nitrated by concentrated nitric and sulfuric acids to form nitrobenzene.

• Friedel Crafts alkylation: Benzene → Alkylarenes

  Friedel-Crafts alkylation attaches an alkyl group to benzene.

• Friedel Crafts acylation: Benzene → Acylbenzenes

  Friedel-Crafts acylation attaches an acyl group to benzene.

• Ring hydrogenation: Benzene → Cyclohexane

  Benzene gives cyclohexane through ring hydrogenation.

• Nitration: Benzene → Nitrobenzene

  Benzene gives nitrobenzene through nitration.

References

1. PubChem Compound Summary for BenzeneNational Center for Biotechnology Information · PubChem · 2026

   Used for stable identifiers and basic compound metadata.

2. Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB): Benzene — melting pointHazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)

   Retrieved through PubChem PUG View on 2026-09-08. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/241#section=Melting-Point. Source value, complete property clause or compact miscibility statement retained; absent pressure, temperature or phase conditions are not inferred. Original reference: Haynes, W.M. (ed.). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. 94th Edition. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton: FL 2013-2014, p. 3-34

3. Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB): Benzene — boiling pointHazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)

   Retrieved through PubChem PUG View on 2026-09-08. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/241#section=Boiling-Point. Source value, complete property clause or compact miscibility statement retained; absent pressure, temperature or phase conditions are not inferred. Original reference: Haynes, W.M. (ed.). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. 94th Edition. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton: FL 2013-2014, p. 3-34

4. Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB): Benzene — densityHazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)

   Retrieved through PubChem PUG View on 2026-09-08. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/241#section=Density. Source value, complete property clause or compact miscibility statement retained; absent pressure, temperature or phase conditions are not inferred. Original reference: Haynes, W.M. (ed.). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. 94th Edition. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton: FL 2013-2014, p. 3-34

5. Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB): Benzene — solubilityHazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)

   Retrieved through PubChem PUG View on 2026-09-08. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/241#section=Solubility. Source value, complete property clause or compact miscibility statement retained; absent pressure, temperature or phase conditions are not inferred. Original reference: May WE et al; J Chem Ref Data 28: 197-0200 (1983)