Hi there,

I need to find a positive test for a tertiary alcohol; specifically 2-methylpropan-2-ol.

I am aware of oxidising alcohols with an oxidising agent to distinguish between them but this is not a positive test for tertiary alcohols.

 

Any nudge in the right direction would be much appreciated.

Could you try making a phenylurethan or Dinitrobenzoate derivates and analyze the melting point?

I dont know what that is but I'm afraid not because it must be solely chemical. No physical property analysis can be used. Any other ideas?

Why do you need a dedicated test? A good thing about science is if you do lots of tests and they all turn back negative results for what they are ment to test, then you only have one thing left! In your case, this could be the tertiary alcohol.

 

 

 

Matt

I'm not sure what you are looking for. If it's a chemical reaction that t butanol does but nothing else does then I think it's a lost cause. If you are just trying to distinguish it from the other butanols then it's a lot easier.

CHEMHERO: It's the a-level practical plan. And it says we have to find a positive test for each solution. Yes, it would make sense to do what you said but that's not what they want.

 

JOHN CUTHBER: No, just a positive test for tertiary alcohols is all that's necessary.

As far as a levels are concerned I think that only tertiary alcohols react with hydrochloric acid to give alkyl chlorides. Secondary alcohols also require a catalyst.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucas_reagent

Cheers. That's what I've all I've found in the end, but just a bit confused coz we've never dne it but nevermind.

Yep so cheers.