Fundamentals of Organic ChemistryChemistryAlcohols Phenols and Ethers
Identify the major product of the following reaction:
Correct answer
1
Step-by-step solution
Protonation of the terminal alkene by dilute H ₂ SO ₄ follows Markovnikov's rule, generating a stable tertiary carbocation at the substituted carbon. The adjacent primary hydroxyl group ( - OH ) acts as an internal nucleophile, attacking the tertiary carbocation to form a stable 5-membered cyclic ether via intramolecular cyclization. Deprotonation yields the neutral tetrahydrofuran derivative. As the starting material has two such alkene and hydroxyl pairs, this cyclization process occurs twice. The second cyclizat