Question

What happens when ethanol is treated with thionyl chloride?

Answer 1

When ethanol (CH₃CH₂OH) is treated with thionyl chloride (SOCl₂), it undergoes a nucleophilic substitution reaction, resulting in the conversion of the hydroxyl group (–OH) of ethanol into a chlorine atom (Cl). This produces ethyl chloride (C₂H₅Cl).

\[\ce{\underset{ethanol}{CH3CH2OH} + \underset{chloride}{\underset{thionyl}{SOCl2}} ->[pyridine ][] \underset{ethyl chloride}{CH3CH2Cl} + \underset{dioxide}{\underset{sulfur}{SO2↑}} + \underset{chloride}{\underset{hydrogen}{HCl}}}\]