Question about alcohol protonation

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The discussion centers on the use of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) in the protonation of alcohols, highlighting the differences between using concentrated and diluted H2SO4 under varying conditions. It is established that concentrated H2SO4 can lead to undesirable side reactions, while diluted H2SO4 is preferred in specific scenarios to control the reaction environment. The formation of water during protonation raises questions about the necessity of using diluted H2SO4, as the presence of water can affect reaction outcomes. Overall, the choice of H2SO4 concentration and reaction conditions is crucial for achieving desired results in alcohol protonation.

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MarcL
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Hey, so I saw in my book that it used H2SO4 reacted with an alcohol to protonate it ( makes sense). But sometimes it uses diluted H2SO4 in warm and other times it will be H2SO4 in heat. I was just wondering, what difference do reaction hold?

What seems odd is that water is formed anyway in the protonation of alcohol, so why use diluted H2SO4?
 
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What is the protonated alcohol used for? Same thing each time, or different reactions? If different - is it in any way strange that different reactions require different conditions?
 
MarcL said:
Hey, so I saw in my book that it used H2SO4 reacted with an alcohol to protonate it ( makes sense). But sometimes it uses diluted H2SO4 in warm and other times it will be H2SO4 in heat. I was just wondering, what difference do reaction hold?

What seems odd is that water is formed anyway in the protonation of alcohol, so why use diluted H2SO4?

Different reactions require different conditions. Sometimes conc. H2SO4 just screws up the reactants and sometimes diluted H2SO4 is just not enough or the reaction needs absence of water
 

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