Phenols can be synthesized from diazonium salts by forming the diazonium salt from an aromatic primary amine and then hydrolyzing it to phenols. Alternatively, phenol is manufactured from cumene by oxidizing cumene to cumene hydroperoxide, followed by conversion to phenol and acetone through treatment with dilute acid.
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The synthesis of phenols from diazonium salts and cumene involves the Dowd-Beckwith reaction. First, a diazonium salt is generated from an aromatic amine by treating it with sodium nitrite and hydrochloric acid. Then, the diazonium salt reacts with cumene (isopropylbenzene) in the presence of copper(I) chloride or cuprous chloride as a catalyst. This reaction leads to the substitution of the diazonium group with the cumene group, forming a phenol derivative. The final product is a phenol with an alkyl substituent derived from cumene. This synthetic route allows for the introduction of various substituents on the phenol ring.