MCQMediumJEE 2026Electrophilic Substitution in Benzene

JEE Chemistry 2026 Question with Solution

Consider the following sequence of reactions. The number of bromine atom(s) in the final product (P) will be :

Reaction sequence starting from nitrobenzene with steps Br2 over FeBr3 and heat, then Sn and HCl, pH neutralisation, Br2 and H2O, NaNO2 and HBr at 0 to 5 degree Celsius, followed by CuBr to give major product P.
  • A

    33

  • B

    55

  • C

    66

  • D

    11

Answer

Correct answer:B

Step-by-step solution

Standard Method

Given: A reaction sequence starts from nitrobenzene and asks for the number of bromine atoms in the final product P.

Find: The total number of bromine atoms present in the final product.

From the sequence shown, the key transformations are:

  1. Bromination of nitrobenzene
  2. Reduction of the nitro group to an amine
  3. Bromination with bromine water
  4. Diazotization
  5. Sandmeyer replacement by bromine

Nitrobenzene contains the NO2-NO_2 group, which is meta-directing. Therefore, bromination introduces one bromine atom at the meta position, giving m-bromonitrobenzene.

Reduction with Sn/HCl\mathrm{Sn/HCl} followed by neutralisation converts NO2-NO_2 into NH2-NH_2, so the compound becomes m-bromoaniline.

Now NH2-NH_2 is a strongly activating group. With bromine water, substitution occurs at all free ortho and para positions relative to NH2-NH_2. In m-bromoaniline, these are positions 22, 44, and 66. Hence, three more bromine atoms are introduced, forming 2,3,4,6-tetrabromoaniline.

Next, the amino group is diazotized and then replaced by bromine in the Sandmeyer reaction. This adds one more bromine atom at the position originally occupied by NH2-NH_2.

So, total bromine atoms in the final product are:

1+3+1=51 + 3 + 1 = 5

Therefore, the final product contains 55 bromine atoms, so the correct option is B.

Stepwise Counting of Bromine Atoms

Given: The reaction sequence includes bromination, reduction, polybromination, diazotization, and Sandmeyer reaction.

Find: Count bromine atoms present in the final product after all steps.

Step 1: Nitrobenzene undergoes bromination. Since NO2-NO_2 is meta-directing, the product is m-bromonitrobenzene.

Bromine count after this step:

11

Step 2: Reduction using Sn/HCl\mathrm{Sn/HCl} changes NO2-NO_2 to NH2-NH_2. No bromine atom is removed here.

Bromine count remains:

11

Step 3: Treatment with Br2/H2O\mathrm{Br_2/H_2O} causes bromination at all available ortho and para positions of the aniline ring. For m-bromoaniline, the free activated positions are 22, 44, and 66.

Additional bromine atoms added:

33

Total bromine count now:

1+3=41 + 3 = 4

Step 4: Diazotization converts NH2-NH_2 into a diazonium group.

Step 5: Sandmeyer reaction with CuBr\mathrm{CuBr} replaces the diazonium group by bromine.

Additional bromine atoms added:

11

Final bromine count:

4+1=54 + 1 = 5

Hence, the final product is pentabromobenzene, and the correct option is B.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming bromination of nitrobenzene occurs at the ortho or para position is incorrect because NO2-NO_2 is a strong deactivating meta-directing group. First place the initial bromine at the meta position.

  • Counting only one additional bromine during reaction with bromine water is incorrect. In aniline derivatives, NH2-NH_2 strongly activates the ring, so all free ortho and para positions must be checked for substitution.

  • Forgetting the final Sandmeyer replacement leads to an undercount. The diazonium group formed from NH2-NH_2 is replaced by bromine, so one extra bromine atom must be added at the end.

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