Electrophilic Centers in Acetyl Chloride

The ring structure of acetyl chloride contains three double bonds, each containing two electrons. The hydrogen atoms in the ring are shielded by cyclohexane bonds. As the HCl is added to the alkenes, a slow step carbocation intermediate is formed. This intermediate contains three electrons, one of which is a proton.

The acetyl chloride molecule contains four hydrogen atoms. The first two are positively charged. The second two are negatively charged. The ethoxide ion has a full negative charge on oxygen, while ethanol has only a partial negative charge. Thus, the ethoxide ion is a better nucleophile than ethanol.

The remaining two electrons are negatively charged and labile. This makes it difficult to make a hydrogen bond between the two atoms. This is why a hydrogen bond is not formed between acetyl chloride and acetic acid.

The first step in electrophilic aromatic substitution is the rate-determining step. The addition of an electrophile to an aromatic ring results in the formation of a sigma complex. The sigma complex has four p electrons and is more reactive than the original aromatic ring.

Friedel-Crafts acylation is another process where an electrophilic aromatic substitution is performed. In this reaction, an alkyl ring is replaced with an acyl halide, while the Lewis acid coordinates the halogen with the electrophile in the aromatic ring. This step regenerates the aromatic ring. However, this reaction is not reversible.