Question

Out of tert, butyl alcohol and n-butanol, which will undergo dehydration faster and why?​

Answer 1

Out of tert-butyl alcohol and n-butanol, tert-butyl alcohol will undergo faster dehydration due to the following reason:

• Dehydration refers to the process of elimination of water molecules. Acidic dehydration of alcohol leads to the formation of alkenes.
• Since the -OH group takes out the hydrogen atom present on the β-carbon atom, this mechanism is called β-elimination.
• In this mechanism, a carbocation is formed. As tertiary carbocation is more stable than the primary carbocation (due to the hyperconjugation effect), tert-butyl alcohol will dehydrate faster than the n-butanol.