By what mechanism does cyclohexanol react when treated in concentrated sulfuric acid/phosphoric acid and what compound results?
1 answer:
Answer:
The mechanism is E1 and the product is cyclohexene
Explanation:
Attached to this answer is an image of the reaction mechanism of the reaction between cyclohexanol and concentrated sulfuric acid/phosphoric acid. The acid (H3O^+) acts as catalyst.
We can see that the first step in the mechanism is the protonation of the -OH group of the alcohol. This is followed by loss of water molecule which is a good leaving group.
The water now acts as a Lewis base by abstracting a proton from the substrate, forming cyclohexene and regenerating the acid catalyst.
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