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Alcohol Phenol Ethers
Alcohol Phenol Ethers
The alkoxy group (-OR) is ortho, para directing and activates the aromatic ring towards
electrophilic substitution
1. Halogenation
E.g., anisole undergoes bromination with bromine in ethanoic acid even in the absence
of iron (III) bromide catalyst. It is due to the activation of benzene ring by the methoxy
group. Para isomer is obtained in 90% yield.
2. Friedel-Crafts reaction: Anisole undergoes Friedel-Crafts reaction, i.e., the alkyl and
acyl groups are introduced at ortho and para positions by reaction with alkyl halide and
acyl halide in the presence of anhydrous aluminium chloride (a Lewis acid) as catalyst
3. Nitration: Anisole reacts with a mixture of concentrated sulphuric and nitric acids to yield a mixture of
ortho and para nitroanisole.
Addition of HX to ethers