What type of reaction occurs when chlorobenzene is treated with sodium hydroxide at high temperature?

1 question

1 item

Q: What type of reaction occurs when chlorobenzene is treated with sodium hydroxide at high temperature?

Solution: Chlorobenzene undergoes nucleophilic substitution to form phenol when treated with sodium hydroxide at high temperature.

Steps: 6

Step 1: Understand that chlorobenzene is a compound that contains a chlorine atom attached to a benzene ring.
Step 2: Know that sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is a strong base and can act as a nucleophile, which means it can donate a pair of electrons to form a bond.
Step 3: When chlorobenzene is heated with sodium hydroxide, the high temperature helps to break the bond between the chlorine atom and the benzene ring.
Step 4: The nucleophile (OH- from NaOH) attacks the carbon atom that is bonded to the chlorine atom.
Step 5: This attack leads to the substitution of the chlorine atom with a hydroxyl group (OH), resulting in the formation of phenol.
Step 6: The overall reaction is called nucleophilic substitution because the nucleophile (OH-) replaces the leaving group (Cl-).