Benzoyl chloride reacts with ammonia to yield which major product?

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Multiple Choice

Benzoyl chloride reacts with ammonia to yield which major product?

An acyl chloride reacts with ammonia through nucleophilic acyl substitution: ammonia attacks the carbonyl carbon, the chloride leaves, and the resulting intermediate is converted to the amide. In benzoyl chloride, this gives benzamide (Ph-CO-NH2). If ammonia is in excess, the HCl produced is neutralized to form ammonium chloride, giving the overall equation: benzoyl chloride + 2 NH3 → benzamide + NH4Cl. So the major organic product is benzamide. Benzoic acid would form from hydrolysis, which isn’t the pathway here; aniline or benzaldehyde would require different transformations not involved in this reaction.

An acyl chloride reacts with ammonia through nucleophilic acyl substitution: ammonia attacks the carbonyl carbon, the chloride leaves, and the resulting intermediate is converted to the amide. In benzoyl chloride, this gives benzamide (Ph-CO-NH2). If ammonia is in excess, the HCl produced is neutralized to form ammonium chloride, giving the overall equation: benzoyl chloride + 2 NH3 → benzamide + NH4Cl. So the major organic product is benzamide. Benzoic acid would form from hydrolysis, which isn’t the pathway here; aniline or benzaldehyde would require different transformations not involved in this reaction.

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