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Comments on Reaction ConditionsI would like to make a few comments about the chemical reactions of alcohols (or for that matter, any organic compounds). Things such as the concentration of water, the concentration of sulfuric acid, the temperature under which the reaction takes place, even the way in which the chemicals are mixed with one another, can be very important factors when you actually try to synthesize something from an alcohol. Also, you almost always get mixtures of various products from organic reactions even though an equation might be written that shows only one product. When you do get a mixture of several different compounds, they must then be separated from one another by some of the methods that we discussed way back in the beginning of the first term--methods such as distillation, crystallization, and sublimation. All of these various separation methods take advantage of the differences in physical properties that these chemicals within the mixture have. So keep in mind when we say "this reacts with something to give that", it is usually not a complete reaction and often there are side reactions that take place to give other products. The product of an organic chemical reaction almost always has to be purified or separated from the reaction mixture if it is to be used for some particular purpose.
E-mail instructor: Eden Francis Clackamas Community College |
