Sulfuric acid can be used as a catalyst:
- In the hydrolysis of primary or secondary nitroalkane salts to aldehydes or ketones.
- In the selective hydrolysis of nitriles to amides.
- To synthesize amides of t-alkylcarbinamines via Ritter reaction between nitriles and alkenes.
- To prepare 3,4-dialkyl-2(5H)-furanones by carbonylation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes.
- In the nitration of aromatic carbocycles and heteroaromatic compounds.
- In the Friedel–Craft ketone synthesis using anhydrides via α-amidoalkylation reaction.
H
2SO
4 can also be used in the following reactions:
- Michael′s addition reactions
- Electrophilic substitution reactions
- Esterification of highly hindered aromatic acids
- Aldol condensation reaction
- Beckmann rearrangement
- Hofmann–Loffler–Freytag reaction
- Isomerization
- Dehydrogenation
- Sulfonation