Themes > Science > Chemistry > Organic Chemistry > Common Reaction Mechanisms > Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution

Electrophilic aromatic substitution generally takes the following form.

Step 1: Attack of benzene on the electrophile to form resonance stabilized carbocation

Step 1

Step 2: Abstraction of proton to regain aromaticity and give substituted product

Step 2

Notes: Formation of the carbocation, the rate-determining step, is highly endothermic because it forms a nonaromatic carbocation.


Information provided by: http://www.chemhelper.com