Concept:Friedel-Crafts alkylation is an electrophilic substitution reaction that introduces an alkyl group into a benzene ring.
Explanation:Benzene is very stable, so a strong catalyst is needed to form a reactive electrophile.
Aluminium chloride,
AlCl3, acts as a Lewis acid and is the common catalyst for this reaction.
It reacts with an alkyl halide, such as
CH3Cl, to produce a carbocation.
The carbocation then attacks the benzene ring and replaces one hydrogen atom with an alkyl group.
Nickel and palladium are used for hydrogenation of alkenes, not alkylation of benzene.
Sunlight promotes free-radical halogenation of alkanes, not Friedel-Crafts alkylation.
Thus, the catalyst for alkylation of benzene is aluminium chloride.
Answer:D. aluminium chloride