Question

Cumene is the starting material for the industrial production of acetone and phenol.

The structure of cumene is

Give the systematic name for cumene.

Short answer

There are two possible systematic names for cumene are $1-\text{isopropyl-benzene}$and $2-\text{phenyl-propane}$.

Step-by-step solution

Define the cumene.

Cumene (isopropyl benzene) is an aliphatic-substituted aromatic hydrocarbon. It is also present in crude oil and refined fuels. It is a colorless, flammable liquid with a boiling point of $\mathbf{152}\mathbf{°}\mathbf{\text{C}}$.

Find the compound name.

The benzene ring in the given molecular structure, suggests the root name "benzene," then the isopropyl group, which would be the prefix, attached to the first carbon atom, thus using number one before the prefix.

Another possibility is that if the benzene ring is acting as a substituent, the prefix would be "phenyl," and the root name would be "prop," because the longest carbon chain has three carbon atoms.

Thus, the name of the cumene are$\text{1 - isopropyl - benzene}$ and $\text{2 - phenyl - propane}$.