Friedel–Crafts acylation product name: In the acylation of benzene with acetyl chloride in AlCl3, what is the IUPAC name of the ketone product?

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Multiple Choice

Friedel–Crafts acylation product name: In the acylation of benzene with acetyl chloride in AlCl3, what is the IUPAC name of the ketone product?

The reaction demonstrates Friedel–Crafts acylation, where an acylium ion forms from the acyl chloride in the presence of a Lewis acid and then electrophilically benzene is attacked. Here, acetyl chloride + AlCl3 generates the acylium ion CH3–CO+, which attaches to the benzene ring. After workup, the carbonyl remains attached to the ring, giving a phenyl ketone: Ph–CO–CH3. This product is acetophenone, the ketone formed by attaching the acetyl group to the ring. In IUPAC naming, this compound is commonly referred to as acetophenone (also seen as 1-phenylethanone in strict naming, but acetophenone is the widely used IUPAC-name form in this context). The other options don’t fit: benzaldehyde would have a formyl group on the ring (an aldehyde, not produced here); acetone is a simple dialkyl ketone with no aromatic ring; acetylbenzene is a less preferred name for the same structure and not the standard IUPAC form used in this context.

The reaction demonstrates Friedel–Crafts acylation, where an acylium ion forms from the acyl chloride in the presence of a Lewis acid and then electrophilically benzene is attacked. Here, acetyl chloride + AlCl3 generates the acylium ion CH3–CO+, which attaches to the benzene ring. After workup, the carbonyl remains attached to the ring, giving a phenyl ketone: Ph–CO–CH3.

This product is acetophenone, the ketone formed by attaching the acetyl group to the ring. In IUPAC naming, this compound is commonly referred to as acetophenone (also seen as 1-phenylethanone in strict naming, but acetophenone is the widely used IUPAC-name form in this context). The other options don’t fit: benzaldehyde would have a formyl group on the ring (an aldehyde, not produced here); acetone is a simple dialkyl ketone with no aromatic ring; acetylbenzene is a less preferred name for the same structure and not the standard IUPAC form used in this context.

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