Question

in the conversion of methanol to CH3Cl which reagent is best​

Answer 1

Heya,

The best reagent to convert methanol (CH3OH) to CH3Cl is SOCl2 . The reaction goes like this :-

CH3OH + SOCl2 ---> CH3Cl + SO2 + HCl.

• This is the best method because the other two product SO2 and HCl are gases.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS FOR IIT-JEE .

• This reaction is an SN-2 reaction.

• If the reactant has a chiral carbon, two types of reactions occurs.

1. In the presence of pyridine :- We get inverted product.
2. In the absence of pyridine :- We get a product with retention in configuration. This reaction follows a mechanism called SN-i (internal)