100PercentChemistry - 21-8-2015 at 11:48
Hello,
I am new to this forum.
I saw a method awhile back, but I can't seem to find it. What is an easy way to make toluene from benzene? Also how much of each chemical should I
use?
chemrox - 21-8-2015 at 11:56
It's like making lead from gold. Toluene is a cheap hardware store chemical. I think you might do it with CH3I in the presence of aluminum chloride
but why would you. Experimenting is fun. Before you experiment with carcinogens and pyrophoric cmpds you should it least learn stoichiometry. (I
couldn't find benzene from toluene here either)
Fulmen - 21-8-2015 at 12:38
Actually toluene is hard to acquire in many places, so such a reaction could be useful.
100PercentChemistry - 21-8-2015 at 13:26
The closest thing is Xylol Xylene at my store. They don't sell Toluene.
aga - 21-8-2015 at 14:42
It might be easier to make a list of the things that you Can buy, and seek routes to toluene from each of those.
One of them may be easier than the others.
Which country are you in ?
Corrosive Joeseph - 21-8-2015 at 14:50
I'd have to agree with Chemrox here.
Lead from gold is a very apt analogy.
If your proposed idea is just for the aquisition of toluene l'm sure there are plenty of people here who would trade your benzene for toluene.
MeshPL - 22-8-2015 at 04:46
Don't even try CH3I and aluminium chloride catalyst. With Friedel-Crafts alkylation it is nearly impossible to prevent over alkylation turning some of
the toluene to xylenes and other methylated benzenes. In fact toluene is more easily alkylated than benzene. You may get some toluene but extracting
it may be a pain, especially due to azeotropes forming and yield may be around 40% or less (I guess), unless using a huge excess of benzene. Also
water is a huge issue with such reactions.
There is no straightforward route for benzene->toluene. One simpler route I can think of involves Blanc chloromethylation of benzene to benzyl
chloride ("chlorotoluene"), then turning it into Grignard reagent and hydrolysing it. This route is simple but not easy to do, requiring total
exclusion of water from reaction vessels. Feasible mostly in laboratory.
Industrially toluene is produced in BTX process, but unless you are able to make aparature able to withstand high temperatures and pressures as well
as separate toluene from xylenes, benzene and so on it is obviously not an option.
There are obviously more ways to make toluene but I can't think of any that an amateur could use.