Question

Benzoylation of phenol in alkaline medium is known as:
A. Friedel-Crafts reaction
B. Wurtz-Fittig reaction
C. Schotten-Baumann reaction
D. Sabatier Senderens reaction

Answer 1

Hint: The process given in the question is ‘benzoylation’. As the name suggests, benzoylation is the process of inserting a ‘benzoyl’ in any compound. Phenol is an alcohol and has one hydrogen it is capable of donating.

Complete step by step answer:
Schotten-Baumann reaction is a common method of synthesizing amides. It includes benzoylation of active hydrogen-containing compounds by using benzyl chloride and aqueous sodium hydroxide. The generalized reaction is given as followed –

According to the question, we have
an active hydrogen containing compound – phenol
an alkaline medium – NaOH
and the objective is benzoylation of the compound. Therefore, we can conclude that benzoylation of phenol can be done by Schotten-Baumann reaction.
The reaction is as given below –
Therefore, the answer is – option (c) – Benzoylation of phenol in alkaline medium is known as Schotten-Baumann reaction.

Additional Information:
Benzoylation is a chemical reaction that introduces a benzoyl group into a molecule. Other bases can be used in this process instead of aq. NaOH, like pyridine.

Note: Let us see about the other reactions as well –
Sabatier Senderens reaction
It includes the reaction of hydrogen with carbon dioxide at temperatures around 300–400 degree Celsius and high pressures in the presence of a nickel catalyst to produce methane and water.
Friedel-Crafts reaction
It includes coupling reaction, which involves electrophilic aromatic substitution that is used for attachment of substituents to aromatic rings.
Wurtz-Fittig reaction
It includes chemical reaction of aryl halides with alkyl halides in presence of sodium metal and dry ether to give substituted aromatic compounds.