Consider the following sequence of reactions: Benzene Oleum A [ (ii) H ^+] (i) NaOH, B Br ₂ / H ₂ O C The final product 'C' is:

Step-by-step solution

Benzene reacts with oleum (fuming sulfuric acid) to undergo sulfonation, forming benzenesulfonic acid (Compound A). Benzenesulfonic acid is fused with sodium hydroxide at high temperature to form sodium phenoxide, which upon acidification ( H ^+ ) yields phenol (Compound B). Phenol reacts with bromine water ( Br ₂ / H ₂ O ), a highly polar medium. The strong activating effect of the - OH group in the polar solvent leads to rapid polyhalogenation, forming a white precipitate of 2,4,6-tribromophenol (Compound C). If