Alkylation of benzene with straight-chain olefins (from hexene to decene) in the presence of strong sulfuric acid was studiedat a carefully controlled low temperature. The rate determinations were carried out under the condition of complete elimination of masstransfar resistance. The reaction was found to occur by a homogeneous mechanism in acid phase alone, and reasonable correlation of reaction rates with sulfuric acid strength and reactant concentrations was also obtained.
In addition to the carbonium ion mechanism, all the isomeric ions were found to have equal stabilities when they attained the equilibrium distribution before the attack on benzene.