Reaction of acetylene react with hydrochloricacid in presence of mercuric sulpahate
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This is a hydration reaction. For alkenes, hydration only requires strong acid but acetylenes are less reactive toward these conditions. The addition of mercury sulfate helps to catalyze the reaction. In the case of acetylene, the reaction is:

The 1-ethen-1-ol and acetaldehyde are actually in equilibrium but the equilibrium is heavily shifted toward acetaldehyde. Bottom line is that hydration of alkynes with sulfuric acid/mercury(II) sulfate results in their conversion to either aldehydes or ketones depending on the alkyne substitution. It is best to use symmetrical alkynes or terminal alkynes (which give methyl ketones) otherwise mixtures may result. Finally, this is a ‘named’ reaction and is called Kucherov's reaction.

The 1-ethen-1-ol and acetaldehyde are actually in equilibrium but the equilibrium is heavily shifted toward acetaldehyde. Bottom line is that hydration of alkynes with sulfuric acid/mercury(II) sulfate results in their conversion to either aldehydes or ketones depending on the alkyne substitution. It is best to use symmetrical alkynes or terminal alkynes (which give methyl ketones) otherwise mixtures may result. Finally, this is a ‘named’ reaction and is called Kucherov's reaction.
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