Question

Preparation of Bakelite proceeds via reactions:
(A) Electrophilic substitution and dehydration
(B) Electrophilic addition and dehydration
(C) Nucleophilic addition and dehydration
(D) Condensation and elimination

Answer 1

Hint: Bakelite was the first discovered commercialized synthetic molding plastic and was developed by a Belgian scientist Leo Bakeland in the year 1909. Thus bakelite was named after Bakeland as a matter of respect and recognition for his invention. To answer this question, you must recall the process of preparation of bakelite. It is from phenol and formaldehyde and involves condensation polymerization.

Complete step by step solution
Nowadays, we can say that we live in a world of plastics. Plastic and its products are an essential part of our daily lives and it is hard to imagine our lives without the use of plastics. Almost everything around us is made up of plastics like plastic furniture, electrical plugs, sockets, buckets, pens, and many more things and all of them are an essential part of our life. Bakelite is a type of plastic.
The chemical name of bakelite is polyoxy- benzyl ethylene glycol anhydride. It is a type of a thermosetting plastic and formed the polymerization of phenol and formaldehyde. It is known as a condensation polymer or as a phenol- formaldehyde resin.
First, phenol and formaldehyde are reacted and an electrophilic substitution reaction takes place with formaldehyde as the attacking species to form ortho or para hydroxy benzyl alcohols. Many molecules of the hydroxyl benzyl alcohols condense to form novolac which further forms bakelite.
The correct answer is A.

Note
Plastics can be classified into two major types namely, thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics. Thermoplastics are those plastics which on heating, soften and can then be molded as per our necessities. Thermosetting plastics, commonly known as thermosets, are those plastics which on heating become hard and retain their shape when cooled.