Asked by Hayyley

I have a question on how to distinguish cyclohexane from benzene through lab tests i.e. chemical reactions (except for burning and observing the amount of soot produced, because it is not a very conclusive test)


So far the only thing I could think of is adding halogens to both of them. Since alkanes would undergo free radical substitution only in the presence of UV light or high temperature, whereas benzene would require the presence of a catalyst at room temperature. But I don't see how this would help tell them apart. Is there any decolonization involved for benzene or cyclohexane?
Answered by DrBob222
You might take a look at the reactions listed here. For example, hydrogenation with a catalyst looks good to me. The other reactions (adding a CH3 group etc) probably would work too.
Answered by Hayyley
But how does the reaction allow you to differentiate? There's no color change or effervescence that can help you differentiate the two reactions right?
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