Why Sulphonation is reversible reaction?
John Kim
Published May 21, 2026
Thereof, what is Sulphonation reaction?
Sulfonation is a reversible reaction that produces benzenesulfonic acid by adding sulfur trioxide and fuming sulfuric acid. The reaction is reversed by adding hot aqueous acid to benzenesulfonic acid to produce benzene.
Additionally, what does so3 h2so4 do? Fuming sulfuric acid is a mixture of sulfuric acid, H2SO4 and sulfur trioxide, SO3which is very powerful electrophile. Aromatic sulfonylation is a reverse process and if benzene-sulfonic acid is heated with dilute aqueous sulfuric acid, the starting benzene is obtained.
Correspondingly, what happens when benzene is treated with conc h2so4?
Heating benzene with conc. sulphuric acid for a few hours results in the formation of benzenesulphonic acid. This reaction is an electrophilic substitution reaction.
Why so3 is an electrophile?
Sulphur trioxide is an electrophile because it is a highly polar molecule with a fair amount of positive charge on the sulphur atom. It is this which is attracted to the ring electrons. The second stage of the reaction involves a transfer of the hydrogen from the ring to the negative oxygen.