Intro to Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Crash Course Organic Chemistry #37

We’ve talked about benzene a bit already in this series, but did you know that benzene rings are present in all kinds of familiar substances? The styrofoam packaging that comes with new appliances, some pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and even some explosives contain benzene. In this episode of Crash Course Organic Chemistry, we’ll see how we can use electrophilic aromatic substitution to attach stuff to benzene rings like halogens, carbons, and more!

Episode Sources:
Rocke, A.J., 1985. Hypothesis and experiment in the early development of Kekule’s benzene theory. Annals of Science, 42(4), pp.355-381.
Martín, N. and Scott, L.T., 2015. Challenges in aromaticity: 150 years after Kekulé’s benzene. Chemical Society Reviews, 44(18), pp.6397-6400.
Stuttgart, G., 2018. Charles Friedel (1832–1899) And James Mason Crafts (1839–1917): The Friedel–Crafts Alkylation And Acylation Reactions. [online] Thieme.de. Available at: https://www.thieme.de/statics/bilder/thieme/final/en/bilder/tw_chemistry/CFZ-Synform-Charles-Friedel-James-Crafts-NRBio.pdf

Series Sources:
Brown, W. H., Iverson, B. L., Ansyln, E. V., Foote, C., Organic Chemistry; 8th ed.; Cengage Learning, Boston, 2018.
Bruice, P. Y., Organic Chemistry, 7th ed.; Pearson Education, Inc., United States, 2014.
Clayden, J., Greeves, N., Warren., S., Organic Chemistry, 2nd ed.; Oxford University Press, New York, 2012.
Jones Jr., M.; Fleming, S. A., Organic Chemistry, 5th ed.; W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2014.
Klein., D., Organic Chemistry; 1st ed.; John Wiley & Sons, United States, 2012.
Louden M., Organic Chemistry; 5th ed.; Roberts and Company Publishers, Colorado, 2009.
McMurry, J., Organic Chemistry, 9th ed.; Cengage Learning, Boston, 2016.
Smith, J. G., Organic chemistry; 6th ed.; McGraw-Hill Education, New York, 2020.
Wade., L. G., Organic Chemistry; 8th ed.; Pearson Education, Inc., United States, 2013.