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In the Friedel-Crafts reaction, alkylation and acylation are two types of reactions that can occur.
Alkylation involves the addition of an alkyl group to an aromatic ring. This is typically achieved by reacting an alkyl halide with an aromatic compound in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst, such as aluminium chloride. For example, benzene can be alkylated with ethyl chloride to form ethylbenzene:
C6H6 + CH3CH2Cl → C6H5CH2CH3 + HCl
Acylation involves the addition of an acyl group to an aromatic ring. This is typically achieved by reacting an acyl chloride with an aromatic compound in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst. For example, benzene can be acylated with acetyl chloride to form acetophenone:
C6H6 + CH3COCl → C6H5COCH3 + HCl
Both alkylation and acylation reactions are important in organic synthesis, as they allow for the introduction of new functional groups onto aromatic rings. However, care must be taken when carrying out these reactions, as they can be prone to side reactions and over-alkylation or over-acylation. Additionally, some substrates may not be suitable for these reactions due to steric hindrance or other factors.
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