Joe was attempting to nitrate a propenyl benzene using nitrous acid which he was making in-situ by dropping 10%H2SO4 into a two phase system, top phase = di-isopropyl ether and propenyl benzene, bottom phase = water and sodium nitrite. Now Joe needs to be clear about the stoicheometry of the reaction between H2SO4 and NaNO2, he thinks its 1mole H2SO4 to 2moles NaNO2.....
is he right?Then to aid understanding further he trys to work out the stoichemoetry of the reaction between nitrous acid and his propenyl benzene... He knows that there's going to be a crystalline precipitate at the interface of the two phases which is a pseudonitrosite [dimer?], now Joe thinks the stoicheometry is 1:1 but doesn't know the chemical structure of this nitrosite, he knows the structure of the beta-nitro molecule which will later be the product of basifying and then acidifying with HCl, but bugger it how many HNO2's are needed to react with each molecule of the propenyl benzene?
Joe thinks 1:1
is he right?Finally, when the nitrosite formed at the interface is treated with KCO3 followed by HCl at 0degrees Celcius - just what is going on there. ie: reaction mechanism?
