Nitration
Benzene gives nitrobenzene through nitration.
- Reagents
- Nitric acid; sulfuric acid catalyst
- Conditions
- Temperature-controlled mixed-acid nitration
- Reaction class
- Nitration
- Equation
- C6H6 + HNO3 -> C6H5NO2 + H2O
Overview
Benzene gives nitrobenzene through nitration.
Transformation
- Equation
- C6H6 + HNO3 -> C6H5NO2 + H2O
- Reactants
- Benzene + Nitric acid
- Products
- Nitrobenzene + Water
- Reagents
- Nitric acid; sulfuric acid catalyst
- Environment
- Temperature-controlled mixed-acid nitration
- Reaction class
- Nitration
- Mechanism
- nitration
- Evidence level
- source-backed molecular example
Scope and limitations
- Scope
- Named benzene example; not a class-wide route prediction.
- Limitations
- Control limits further substitution; no yield, purity or safe operating procedure is implied.
Related 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.
- Nitro reduction and basification: Nitrobenzene → Aniline
Nitrobenzene gives aniline through nitro reduction and basification.
References
- Preparation of phenylamine (aniline)Jim Clark · Chemguide · 2016
Named molecular transformation examples, checked 2026-09-08.