Question

Question #d42e7

Answer 1

Benzene is nucleophilic.

Explanation:

The typical reaction of benzene is electrophilic aromatic substitution (`"S"_text(E)"Ar"`).

(From commons.wikimedia.org)

In the first step, we say that the electrophile `"E"^"+"` attacks the π electrons of the benzene ring.

However, there is no "attack".

The two substances just collide with sufficient energy and the electrons redistribute themselves.

We could just as easily say that the benzene ring "attacks" the electrophile.

In that sense, it is acting as a nucleophile — an electron-rich species that donates an electron pair to form a bond to an electrophile.