Consider the following sequence of reactions The major product P is:

Step-by-step solution

The first reagent is Cu at 573 K . When a tertiary alcohol like tert-butyl alcohol is passed over heated copper at 573 K , it undergoes dehydration rather than dehydrogenation to form an alkene. (CH₃)₃C-OH Cu / 573 K CH₂=C(CH₃)₂ + H₂O The intermediate product is isobutylene (2-methylpropene). The second set of reagents is H^+ and PhCOOH (benzoic acid). This is an acid-catalyzed addition of a carboxylic acid to an alkene, which is a standard method for synthesizing tert-butyl esters. First, the alkene is protonated