Dehydration Of 2-Methylcyclohexanol Lab Report

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Dehydration of 2-Methylcyclohexanol Sura Abedali Wednesday 2:00 PM January 31, 2018 Introduction: Dehydration reactions are important processes to convert alcohols into alkenes. It is a type of elimination reaction that removes an “-OH” group from one carbon molecule and a hydrogen from a neighboring carbon, thus releasing them as a water molecule (H2O) and forming a pi bond between the two carbons1. In this experiment, 2-methylcyclohexanol undergoes dehydration to form three possible products: methylenecylcohexane, 1-methylcyclohexene, and 3-methylcyclohexene in a Hickman still apparatus. Adding 85% Phosphoric Acid to protonates the “-OH” group, turning it into a better leaving group and initiating the dehydration reaction. The dehydration of 2-methylcyclohexanol takes place at the bottom of the Hickman still. As the Hickman still heats up within the sand bath, the products evaporate and travel higher up in the still where they condense into a liquid and fall within the collection ring, thus separating the product from the remaining water. Drierite (CaSO4) is also added as a drying agent to absorb any leftover water within the product. The purity of the product will then be analyzed with infrared spectroscopy, paying attention to OH peak if it is present. Chemical Reactions: Data and Observations: Material Volume Mol. Wt. Mass Density Appearance 2-methycyclohexanol 0.75 mL 114.19 g/mol 0.93 g/mL Clear colorless liquid 85% Phosphoric acid 1.00 mL Clear

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