Phenol

[hashashan]

Hi guys,

I have managed to put my hands on some benzene and i was wondering how can i transform it into phenol

i have seen the process with the sulfuric acid and NaOH. however i dont know how will i be able to puriofy the product from Na2SO3 and NaH2SO3 (I hope ive written them down correctly) after the process.

 

did anyone managed to produce phenol from benzene or familiar with the process?

[asilentbob]

I'd immagine distillation would work well.

[Swany]

Yes. You can also go via the Sandmeyer reaction which involves nitration fo benzene, reduction to amine, diazotation, and hydrolysis.

 

That seems like work though, SA and NaOH sounds easier.

[Douchermann]

I've tried the sandmeyer reaction before, it does work but its a pain in the but IMO unless you have your own aniline already.

[asilentbob]

Phenol from salicylic acid would be loved. Phenol is also in glowsticks, but with quite a bit of water if i understand correctly, and dyes. An extraction write up on that route could be nifty.

[Rogue Chemist]

Its just a base decarboxylation and sublimation purification eh?

 

For those of you who havent worked with phenol before. It stinks horrible, and smelling it for too long numbs your sense of smell.

[Douchermann]

I love the smell of phenol. Its got a very specific smell though, you can't call it "sweet". Its like a chemical/metallic smell. Then again I also like the smell of certain chemicals that are made from acetone that have an O-O bond.

[Rooster]

I think it smells sort of like plasticine

[hashashan]

well the reason i need phenol is not for this section

and as far as i understand, nitrating benzene can be a real pain i nthe ass, but once again this is not for here.

ill try the sulfonation + NaOH method and post in results.

also i would like to make phenol out of acetilsalycilic acid and salycilic acid according to the powerlabs process. However it seems kind of problematic because the tepmerature at which salycilic acid breaks up is higher then the one of phenol. please correect me if im wrong.

and ans far as i understood both of the salts form the sulfonation + NaOH methos are soulable in water so a simple recristalization would be enough?

[Douchermann]

Oh no, nitrating benzene is easy as hell. I used to do it while I was waiting for other experiments to complete. I've never studied the decarboxylation of salicylic acid, but I'm pretty sure something is added to reduce the temp in which it decarboxylates.

[h0lx]

Ya benzene is even nitrated at school.

[hashashan]

nitrated yes but as far as i know its not good for anything.

however trinitrating benzene is quite diffcult

[asilentbob]

I think commonly you go from TNT to TNB or it may be trinitrobenzoic acid, i can't remember, pretty sure its one of the 2. Instead of trinitrating benzene directly that is.

[Douchermann]

Be careful guys, watch the discussion of those compounds in here. To answer your question though, the most efficient way is CH3 oxidised -> COOH decarboxylated in water -> TNB

Since I didn't want to go into detail on the compounds.

 

Nitrobenzene is very useful, it is a precursor to many things. It can also be a solvent for a few reactions.

[hashashan]

anyway i have all the benzene ill ever want. i can just buy in in a pharmacy here. and ive tryed the H2SO4 and NaOH reaction and managed to get some phenol out of it. ill post pictures once ill make a good process.