Gypsy Cake Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecoli Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 Could you try making a phenylurethan or Dinitrobenzoate derivates and analyze the melting point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gypsy Cake Posted May 5, 2007 Author Share Posted May 5, 2007 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemhero Posted May 6, 2007 Share Posted May 6, 2007 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cuthber Posted May 6, 2007 Share Posted May 6, 2007 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gypsy Cake Posted May 7, 2007 Author Share Posted May 7, 2007 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cuthber Posted May 7, 2007 Share Posted May 7, 2007 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gypsy Cake Posted May 7, 2007 Author Share Posted May 7, 2007 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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