Question

1. An attempted dehydration of propan-1-ol (CH3CH2CH2OH) with H2SO4 at 135C gave a product (B.P. 89C, C6H14O) that when tested gave the following results:

Baeyer test: negative
Br2/CCl4 test: negative
Chromium acid test: negative

Propose a structure for the odd product and explain its formation.

2. How is it that the salt KHSO4 is able to act as an acid Catalyst for the dehydration in this experiment?

Answer 1