Dow Process for Making Phenol from Chlorobenzene

Dow process chemistry shows how chlorobenzene can be converted to phenol under harsh reaction conditions. Simple aryl halides do not react with nucleophiles under normal conditions. Aryl halides are halogen-containing benzene compounds, and nucleophiles are electron-rich reactants that attack positive or partially positive s...

Recall that unactivated halobenzenes do not react with nucleophiles under ordinary reaction conditions.

However, if extreme temperature and pressure conditions are employed, the reaction occurs to give the substituted product.

For example, consider the conversion of chlorobenzene to phenol.

The hydroxyl group displaces the c...