Question

Orgo II Tutorial: Friedel-Crafts Alkylation & Acylation

Answer 1

\({\bf{Friedel-Crafts~Alkylation:}}\) like its name suggests, it is a method for adding an alkyl group. However, alkylation is susceptible to carbocation re-arrangements so take care if you want a certain product.

Answer 2

if we want to add something like this, though, we have a re-arrangement

Answer 3

to get around this we can do a friedel-crafts acylation, followed by a clemmenson reduction
the mechanism is somewhat involved so bear w/ me

Answer 4

now, we still have that pesky C=O to get rid of

by doing a reflux reaction with Zn(Hg) + HCl (the mechanism is beyond the scope of this course) you can eliminate the C=O and replace with the appropriate # of hydrogens.

Answer 5

Anyway, that's the end of my tutorial, I hope it was a helpful resource. Source material is Organic Chemistry 12th edition by Solomons, et. al.