[nj_bartel]

pocl3 in pyridine to eliminate to styrene, followed by kmno4 to cleave the alkene to benzoic acid

thanks

[nielsgeode]

pocl3 in pyridine to eliminate to styrene, followed by kmno4 to cleave the alkene to benzoic acid

thanks

Where do you want to eliminate styrene from? 

In case you want to make benzoic acid I would choose the following route: bromobenzene + magnesium gives phenylmagnesium bromide. You can react that species with carbon dioxide followed by quenching with water to give benzoic acid Seams much easier to me and you avoid using toxic havy metals.

[nj_bartel]

This is just a theoretical synthesis problem in onlnie homework  The styrene was resulting from treatment of the 2-phenylethanol with pocl3.

[nj_bartel]

NVM, that route would work - just wasn't what the online was looking for (KMnO₄ would do it by itself in one step).

[macman104]

Yes, KMnO4, hot, with concentrated base I believe, will chew away any alkyl group that has a benzylic hydrogen (that would be a hydrogen on the carbon adjacent to the benzene ring), and it will turn it into a carboxylic acid group.

[aldoxime_amine]

why didn't you dehydrate simply using conc. sulphuric acid?

[nj_bartel]

Wasn't one of the allowed reactants.