A Novel Design Cyclohexene Preparation via Cyclohexanol Dehydration:An Introduction and Discussion over an Undergraduate Experiment Abroad
WANG Zhipeng A1*, WANG Xiao-Shan1, TIAN Jie2, JIANG Zhen-Xiong2, GOU Yun-Zi2, XU Bing3
1. Chemistry Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77840, USA;
2. Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77840, United States;
3. Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77840, United States
Abstract Alcohol dehydration, as an important approach to alkene preparation, is widely applied in the laboratory and industry nowadays. This paper introduces a new experimental design for cyclohexene production through cyclohexanol dehydration in acidic environment. The equilibrium is pushed forward through distillation of low-boiling-point azeotrope formed by cyclohexene and water, which simplifies purification process and makes the whole protocol easier, and further avoids the use of Dean-Stark trap and dehydrant. This design has been broadly adopted in undergrad chemistry courses abroad, and is worthy to be treated as a valuable reference for experimental design in organic chemistry education in China.
WANG Zhipeng A, WANG Xiao-Shan, TIAN Jie, JIANG Zhen-Xiong, GOU Yun-Zi, XU Bing. A Novel Design Cyclohexene Preparation via Cyclohexanol Dehydration:An Introduction and Discussion over an Undergraduate Experiment Abroad[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Education, 2020, 41(2): 108-111.
