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2-Methylbutane Lab

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In this lab, concentrated HCl was added to 2-methyl-2-butanol in a separatory funnel. The reactants were shaken to help the reaction occur quickly. The separatory funnel was vented several times, to reduce pressure that resulted from the reaction which was due to the high vapor pressure of HCl. The Hydrochloric acid will dissociate, and the H+ will react with the OH-C to form H2O-C. The H2O is a good leaving group. As the LG is on a tertiary carbon, an Sn1 reaction should occur. In the rate determining step, the water will leave, to produce a tertiary carbocation. In the second (fast) step, the Cl- nucleophile from the dissociated HCl will attack the carbocation and 2-chloro-2-mehtylbutane forms. In this reaction, some E1 also occurs; however, HCl will react with the product of E1 to produce the 2-chloro-2-methylbutane product. In the lab, after the reaction occurred, the product needed to be purified as excess HCl was used and still remained. To purify the product, a series of reactions were completed. …show more content…

The percent recovery was calculated by finding the moles of the initial and final products. The moles of the initial product were found by multiplying the volume used by the density of 2-methyl-2-butanol, and then dividing by the molar mass. The percent recovery was good, showing few errors were made and that the lab went as expected. To improve the recovery, the extractions could be done even more carefully. To analyze the purity of the product, an IR test was run. 2-methyl-2-butanol has a large OH peak; 2-chloro-2-butane does not, but otherwise looks quite similar. The main peak on 2-chloro-2-butane is a C-Cl peak; however, this peak is not revealed with this IR machine, so it could not be analyzed. The IR chart for the experimental product did not have the OH peak and looked like the theoretical IR chart, meaning it was dry and that the desired product had been

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