Toluene: Bromination in the nucleus

Principle

Bromine is polarised and, thereby, activated by zinc chloride as a Lewis acid. It can attach itself in an ionic manner to the toluene nucleus via several complex intermediate stages. Following a dehydrobromination, bromotoluene is formed, i.e. the product of bromination in the nucleus.
In the absence of a catalyst and under the influence of light, however, side-chain bromination takes place via radical intermediate stages. The reaction can be controlled in a targeted manner by varying the reaction conditions.

Benefits

• Secure connection of the items by GL screw joint system
• Stable and safe setup due to solid stand material

Tasks

1. Brominate toluene using bromine.
2. Change the reaction conditions to optimize your results.
3. Distillate the resulting mixture.

Learning objectives

• Bromine
• Toluene
• Lewis acid
• Bromination
• Distillation