Question

Convert the following: i. Ethyl alcohol into ethyl acetate
ii. Phenol into benzene
iii. Diethyl ether into ethyl chloride

Hint:

In organic synthesis, identify the type of reaction (like esterification or reduction) and the suitable reagents (like acids or catalysts) to successfully convert one compound into another.

Answer 1

i. Ethyl Alcohol into Ethyl Acetate:
To convert ethyl alcohol (ethanol) into ethyl acetate, you need to perform an esterification reaction. This is done by reacting ethanol with acetic acid (\(CH_3COOH\)) in the presence of sulfuric acid (\(H_2SO_4\)): \[ CH_3CH_2OH + CH_3COOH \xrightarrow{H_2SO_4} CH_3COOCH_2CH_3 + H_2O \] ii. Phenol into Benzene:
Phenol can be converted into benzene via reduction. The most common method is by using zinc dust in a reduction reaction: \[ C_6H_5OH \xrightarrow{Zn, heat} C_6H_6 \] iii. Diethyl Ether into Ethyl Chloride:
To convert diethyl ether to ethyl chloride, you can perform a substitution reaction using hydrochloric acid (\(HCl\)): \[ C_2H_5O-C_2H_5 + HCl \rightarrow C_2H_5Cl + C_2H_5OH \]