MolDraw › Templates › Name reactions › Friedel–Crafts alkylation
Name reactionsPremium
Friedel–Crafts alkylation template
Premium template. Preview and edit it free in MolDraw; downloading and exporting it is part of MolDraw Pro.
2-Chloropropane and AlCl₃ give the isopropyl cation; benzene attacks it and loses H⁺ to give cumene.
Mechanism step by step
AlCl₃ turns an alkyl halide into a carbocation that alkylates the ring
- Carbocation – AlCl₃ pulls chloride off carbon
- Attack – The ring attacks the carbocation
- Deprotonation – Cl⁻ (from AlCl₄⁻) takes H⁺; AlCl₃ is regenerated
Key points
- Primary halides rearrange: 1-chloropropane also gives cumene.
- The alkylated ring is more reactive than benzene, so polyalkylation is common.
- Strongly deactivated rings (nitrobenzene) and anilines do not react.
- Acylation then reduction avoids both problems.
Drawn with 75 atoms, 9 arrows, 5 shapes – every one editable in MolDraw.
Sources
How to use this template
- Press Edit in MolDraw. The template opens on the canvas of the free MolDraw editor.
- Change anything: move structures, edit atoms and labels, recolour highlights or delete what you do not need.
- Add your own structures, arrows and text next to it, or combine several templates on one page.
- Export the drawing as PNG, SVG or PDF for slides, worksheets, theses and papers.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Friedel–Crafts alkylation template free?
You can preview the Friedel–Crafts alkylation template here and open and edit it in MolDraw for free. Downloading or exporting it is part of MolDraw Pro, together with the other premium templates.
Can I edit the Friedel–Crafts alkylation template?
Yes. It opens as an ordinary MolDraw drawing, so every structure, arrow, label and colour can be changed, and you can add your own content around it.
Is the chemistry checked?
Every structure is checked with RDKit and every curly arrow passes MolDraw’s electron-flow audit. The sources used are listed on this page.
Which name reactions are included?
Over seventy, covering the reactions most often asked in school-leaving exams (A-level, IB, CBSE, JEE and NEET) and first-year university courses, including condensations, rearrangements, oxidations, reductions and aromatic substitutions.