Why is the trifluoromethyl group (-) a powerful meta-director in electrophilic aromatic substitution — Aromatic Hydrocarbons Chemistry Question

💡 Solution & Explanation

The -CF3 group is powerfully electron-withdrawing. If attack occurs at ortho/para positions, one resonance structure places two positive charges directly adjacent to each other, which is highly unstable. Meta attack avoids this catastrophic structure.