Dehydration Reactions
In organic synthesis, there are many examples of dehydration reactions for example dehydration of alcohols or sugars.
| center; Dehydration reactions | ||
| Reaction | Equation | |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion of alcohols to ethers | 2 R-OH → R-O-R + H2O | |
| Conversion of alcohols to alkenes | R-CH2-CHOH-R → R-CH=CH-R + H2O | for example the conversion of glycerol to acrolein :
or the dehydration of 2-methyl-1-cyclohexanol to (mainly) 1-methylcyclohexene |
| Conversion of carboxylic acids to acid anhydrides | 2 RCOOH → (RCO)2O + H2O | |
| Conversion of amides to nitriles | RCONH2 → R-CN + H2O | |
| dienol benzene rearrangement | ||
Some dehydration reactions can be mechanistically complex, for instance the reaction of a sugar (sucrose) with concentrated sulfuric acid: to form carbon as a graphitic foam involves formation of carbon-carbon bonds. The reaction is driven by the strongly exothermic reaction as sulfuric acid reacts with water, which produces dangerous sulfuric-acid containing steam, therefore the experiment should only be performed in a fume-hood or well ventilated area.
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