Question

how to convert 1-propanol to 2-propanol and vice versa.

Answer 1

1. Dehydration of Propan - 1 - ol:

Here, concentrated Sulphuric acid is used as the dehydrating agent.

CH3 - CH2 - CH2 - OH -conc. H2SO4-> CH3 - CH = CH2

2.Hydration of the alkene:

The obtained propene is treated with H2O (in presence of acid as a catalyst), which gets added to the alkene, according to Markovnikov's rule[ the negative part of the addendum (here, - OH- of H2O) gets added to the Carbon atom with less number of Hydrogen atom ], to get propan - 2 - ol.

CH3 - CH = CH2 -H2O-> CH3 - CH (OH) - CH3