See image — Aromatic Hydrocarbons Chemistry Question

💡 Solution & Explanation

Acetophenone (C6H5COCH3) is an aryl methyl ketone. We analyze each option: Option (a): Friedel-Crafts Acylation Benzene (C6H6) reacts with acetyl chloride (CH3COCl) in the presence of AlCl3 (a Lewis acid catalyst), followed by aqueous workup. The AlCl3 activates the acyl chloride to form an acylium ion (CH3CO+), which attacks the benzene ring to give acetophenone (C6H5COCH3). This is the classic Friedel-Crafts acylation and directly gives acetophenone. ✓ Option (b): Dry distillation of mixed calcium salts Heating calcium benzoate [(C6H5COO)2Ca] with calcium acetate [(CH3COO)2Ca] produces a mixed ketone. Dry distillation of a mixture of two different calcium carboxylate salts yields a mixed ketone: one from each carboxylate. The reaction gives C6H5COCH3 (acetophenone) along with benzophenone (C6H5COC6H5) and acetone (CH3COCH3). The mixed ketone acetophenone is indeed one of the products obtained from this reaction. ✓ Option (c): Nitrile + Grignard reagent Benzonitrile (C6H5CN) reacts with methylmagnesium iodide (CH3MgI) to form an imine salt intermediate (C6H5C(=NMgI)CH3), which upon acid hydrolysis (H3O+) gives an imine (C6H5C(=NH)CH3) that further hydrolyzes to acetophenone (C6H5COCH3) and NH3. This is a standard method to prepare ketones from nitriles using Grignard reagents. ✓ Since all three reactions (a), (b), and (c) can be used to prepare acetophenone, the correct answer is (d) All of these. Therefore, the correct answer is D.