Why would concentrated HBr be an inappropriate catalyst for the dehydration of alcohols?

Organic Chemistry: A Guided Inquiry
2nd Edition
ISBN:9780618974122
Author:Andrei Straumanis
Publisher:Andrei Straumanis
Chapter13: Substitution
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 26E
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Why would concentrated HBr be an inappropriate catalyst for the dehydration of alcohols?
The conjugate base Br- is a good nucleophile and would attack the carbocation to form an alkyl bromide
O HBr is strongly acidic, so the water molecule would not be a good leaving group after alcohol protonation.
O HBr would be more likely to promote rearrangement of the carbocation intermediate
HBr is too weakly acidic to protonate alcohols
Transcribed Image Text:Why would concentrated HBr be an inappropriate catalyst for the dehydration of alcohols? The conjugate base Br- is a good nucleophile and would attack the carbocation to form an alkyl bromide O HBr is strongly acidic, so the water molecule would not be a good leaving group after alcohol protonation. O HBr would be more likely to promote rearrangement of the carbocation intermediate HBr is too weakly acidic to protonate alcohols
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