Why is zncl2 not req for tertiary alcohol?
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When preparing alkyl chloride, in the case of primary and secondary alcohols, ZnCl2 acts as Lewis acid to form a carbo-cat-ion as a result of the breakage of the C-O bond. This is followed by reaction of this carbo-cat-ion with chloride ion to form alkyl chloride.
However, in case of tertiary alcohols, since they are very reactive on their own so they don't require ZnCl2. In short, a catalyst is not needed to form a carbo-cat-ion.
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