Question

How can you obtain the following?
(a) Aniline from ammonium benzoate
(b) Benzene diazonium chloride from nitrobenzene
(c) 2,4,6-Tribromoaniline from aniline

Hint:

For aromatic substitution reactions, the amino group (\(-\text{NH}_2\)) is an activating group, which facilitates electrophilic substitution at the ortho and para positions.

Answer 1

(a) Aniline can be obtained from ammonium benzoate by heating it with soda lime, which leads to decarboxylation to form aniline.
(b) Benzene diazonium chloride can be obtained from nitrobenzene by first reducing it to aniline and then treating it with sodium nitrite in the presence of hydrochloric acid to form the diazonium salt.
(c) 2,4,6-Tribromoaniline can be obtained by brominating aniline using bromine water in the presence of a catalyst or heat. The bromine reacts at the ortho and para positions relative to the amino group.