Acid-Catalyzed Formation of Diethyl Ether from Ethyl Alcohol

Acid-Catalyzed Formation of Diethyl Ether from Ethyl Alcohol THE OVERALL REACTION  

Step 1 Proton transfer from the acid catalyst (sulfuric acid) to the oxygen of the alcohol to produce an alkyloxonium ion. 

Step 2 Nucleophilic attack by a molecule of alcohol on the alkyloxonium ion formed in step 1. 

Step 3 The product of step 2 is the conjugate acid of the dialkyl ether. It is deprotonated in the final step of the process to give the ether. 

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FIGURE 15.3 The mechanism of acid-catalyzed formation of diethyl ether from ethyl alcohol. 

FIGURE 15.2 The mechanism of acid-catalyzed formation of diethyl ether from ethyl alcohol. As an alternative in the third step, the Bronsted base that abstracts the proton could be a molecule of the starting alcohol. 

Sodium Borohydride Reduction of an Aldehyde or Ketone 653 Acid-Catalyzed Formation of Diethyl Ether from Ethyl Alcohol 660 Chromic Acid Oxidation of 2-Propanol 665... 

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