Identify the most suitable starting materials and conditions for the preparation of the following compound:

Step-by-step solution

The target compound is 4-nitrobenzophenone. In reaction (1), nitrobenzene is used as the substrate. Nitrobenzene is highly deactivated due to the strongly electron-withdrawing -NO₂ group and does not undergo Friedel-Crafts acylation. In reaction (2), nitration of benzophenone takes place. The carbonyl group is a meta-directing and deactivating group. Thus, the incoming electrophile will attach at the meta position, yielding 3-nitrobenzophenone as the major product, rather than the desired para isomer. In reaction (