Concentrated sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is used to generate the nitronium ion (NO2+) from nitric acid (HNO3) in the nitration of benzene.

The product is acetophenone, formed when benzene reacts with acetyl chloride in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst.

The product can have both R and S configurations due to the presence of two methyl groups that can influence the orientation of the incoming electrophile.

Toluene will undergo electrophilic substitution more readily than benzene due to the electron-donating effect of the methyl group.

Bromine is a common electrophile used in electrophilic aromatic substitution, often activated by a Lewis acid.

The hydroxyl group (-OH) is an electron-donating group, which activates the benzene ring towards electrophilic substitution.