Question

What is nitration product of benzoic acid?

Answer 1

Step 1: Electrophilic substitution reaction

• A substitution reaction, where an electrophile replaces hydrogen from a compound, is known as an electrophilic substitution reaction.
• Haloarenes like benzoic acid undergo electrophilic substitution reactions of the benzene rings such as nitration, halogenation, and sulphonation.
• The type of reaction where the nitro group $(-{\mathrm{NO}}_2)$ is substituted for a hydrogen atom in a compound by using sulphuric acid and nitric acid as the reagent is called a nitration reaction.

Step 2: Nitration of benzoic acid

• Nitration on benzoic acid takes preferably at the meta position as $-\mathrm{COOH}$ is a meta directing group, giving m-nitrobenzoic acid as the final product.
• The reaction is as follows,

Therefore, m-nitrobenzoic acid is the nitration product of benzoic acid.