Alcohol Dehydration: Mechanism of Ether Formation Using an Alumina Catalyst

Article abstract of DOI:10.1006/jcat.1995.1301

Ether formation during the dehydration of secondary alcohols, namely, 2-butanol, 3-pentanol, and 1-cyclopentylethanol, was investigated.Using the proper reaction conditions, the yield of di-2-butyl ether during the dehydration of 2-butanol on alumina can be as high as 40percent.That ether is formed by adding an alcohol to the alkene is ruled out by the results from deuterium tracer studies.Results from experiments using S(+)-2-butanol suggest that the formation of di-2-butyl ether occurs by a S_N2-type mechanism.