In the commercial Dow's process, chlorobenzene is converted to phenol. What specific reactive interm — Alcohols Phenols and Ethers Chemistry Question

💡 Solution & Explanation

Dow's process ($NaOH$ at $623 \text{ K}$, $300 \text{ atm}$) forces substitution on the unreactive chlorobenzene via an elimination-addition mechanism. The strong base removes an ortho-proton and chloride is expelled, forming the highly unstable triple-bonded benzyne intermediate.