Experimental Procedure
Dehydration of 2-Propanal
The assembled apparatus is shown in Figure 4. Short pieces of tubing connect both the 1-mL syringe and the 60-mL syringe to the alumina-bead catalyst tube. The 1-mL syringe is filled with 1 mL of anhydrous 2-propnal. Ring stands and clamps may be used to hold the two syringes in the appropriate position above the burner’s flame with the 1-mL syringe slightly higher than the 60-mL syringe. The alumina-bead catalyst tube is heated gently while the liquid 2-propanal is slowly introduced to the catalyst tube. The liquid will flow downward through the tube unti it hits the hot region. There it will vaporize, react with the hot alumina catalyst, and exit the catalyst tube as gaseous propene into the 60-mL receiver syringe. The following reaction has taken Place