Because of the usefulness of the reaction, a number of ways have been devised for carrying out dehydrations. One method that works particularly well for tertiary alcohols is the acid-catalyzed in section 7.1 For example, treatment of 1-methylcyclohexanol with warm aqueous sulfuric acid in a solvent such as tetrahydrofuran in loss of water and formation of 1-methylcyclohexene.
Acid-catalyzed dehydrations usually follow Zaitsev's rule (Section 11.10) and yield the more highly substituted alkene as the major product. Thus,2- methyl-2-butanol gives primarily 2-methyl-2-butene (trisubstituted double bond) rather than 2-methyl-1butene (disubstituted double bond).
Only tertiary alcohols are readily dehydrated with acid. Secondary alcohols can be made to react, but the conditions are severe (75% H2SO4, 100%) and sensitive molecules don't surviv. Primary alcohols are even less reactive than secondary ones, and very harsh conditions are necessary to cause dehydration (95% H2SO4, 150'C). Thus, the reactivity order for acidcatalyzed dehydrations is
The reasons for the observed reactivity order are best understood by looking at the mechanism of the reaction (Figure 17.5). Acid-catalyzed dehydrations are E1 reactions(Section 11.14), which occur by a thrree-step mechanism involving protonation of the alcohol oxygen, spontaneous loss of water to generate a carbocation intermediate, and final loss of a proton (H+) from the neighboring carbon atom. Tertiary substrates always react fastest in E1 reactione because they lead to highly stabilzed, tertiary carbocation inthemediates.