General Features—Reactions of Alcohols, Ethers, and Epoxides

Sample Problem 9.2 Draw the product of the following two-step reaction sequence. 

When an organic compound contains both a hydroxy group and a halogen atom on adjacent carbon atoms, an intramolecular version of this reaction forms an epoxide. The starting material for this two-step sequence, a halohydrin, is prepared from an alkene, as we will learn in Chapter 10. 

We begin our discussion of the chemical reactions of alcohols, ethers, and epoxides with a look at the general reactive featnres of each fnnctional group. 

Unlike many families of molecules, the reactions of alcohols do not lit neatly into a single reaction class. In Chapter 9, we discuss only the substitution and (3 elimination reactions of alcohols. Alcohols are also key starting materials in oxidation reactions (Chapter 12), and their polar 0-H bond makes them more acidic than many other organic compounds, a feature we will explore in Chapter 19. 

If the OH group of an alcohol is made into a good leaving group, alcohols can undergo P elimination and nucleophilic substitution, as described in Sections 9.8-9.12. 

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General features—Reactions of alcohols, ethers, and epoxides... 

General Features—Reactions of Alcohols, Ethers, and Epoxides... 

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