How do chemists assess the range of aromatic reactivity?

1 Answer
Oct 18, 2017

How else but by experiment?

Explanation:

I presume you refer to substitution of aryl rings by electrophiles. And aromatic chemistry has some 200 years of extensive experiments, especially with regard to the development of azo-dyes - cheap, colour-fast dyes that allowed the manufacture of brilliantly coloured dyes without all that tedious business of collecting sea snails.

But all chemistry is driven by experiment. Organic chemists seek to understand experimental phenomena. And they assess the reactivity of variously substituted aryl rings.