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Question

Question: What happens when anisole is nitrated?...

What happens when anisole is nitrated?

Explanation

Solution

Anisole is an organic compound with the name methoxybenzene.
Nitration is the step that involves addition of a nitro group that is NO2 to the substrate molecule .

Complete answer:
The nitration of the substrate takes place in the presence of concentrated HNO3 and Concentrated H2SO4. This is termed as nitrating agent.
The reaction that takes place is termed as electrophilic reaction. There are two types of reactions in organic chemistry that are substitution or addition.
This is an example of an additional reaction in which a nitro group gets attached.
The electrophile that is NO2+ gets attached to the benzene ring .
Methoxy group attached to the benzene ring is an electron donating group and increases the electron density at ortho and para and hence the electrophile gets attached to the electron rich center.
Two products are formed that are ortho products while the other is para product.
The two products mark the major and minor products for the reaction.
The major product is termed as 4-nitroanisole while the minor product is termed as 2-nitroanisole

Note:
The major product formed in the electrophilic reaction is the 4 -nitroanisole while the major form is 2-nitroanisole.
The reaction is used in various synthesis reactions and the product can limit the concentration of the product by applying conditions for temperature and pressure.