Interaction | Reaction | Process     Data Page

Secondary alcohols are able to undergo acid catalysed elimination of give alkenes.

Note: sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid can be used and that the two isomeric alkenes are unlikely to be formed in equal amounts.

The acid protonates the alcohol. There is then an elimination step with H2O and H+ being lost.

2
  +  
H2SO4
         
  +  
Reactant Page Go To Go To
3-Methylbutan-2-ol     Reactions Using    Reactions Forming
Sulfuric acid Catalyst    Reactions Using    Reactions Forming
3-Methyl-1-butene     Reactions Using    Reactions Forming
2-Methyl-2-butene     Reactions Using    Reactions Forming

Interaction, Reaction, Process defined as:
British A-Level Chemistry: AS
Elimination

© Mark R. Leach 1999 –

Queries, Suggestions, Bugs, Errors, Typos...

If you have any:

Queries
Comments
Suggestions
Suggestions for links
Bug, typo or grammatical error reports about this page,

please contact Mark R. Leach, the author, using mark@meta-synthesis.com