Butan-2-ol is heated with red phosphorous and bromine. Find the number of optical isomers of the product formed.

Step-by-step solution

The reaction of butan-2-ol with red phosphorus and bromine yields 2-bromobutane. CH₃-CH(OH)-CH₂-CH₃ P/Br₂ CH₃-CH(Br)-CH₂-CH₃ The product, 2-bromobutane, contains exactly one chiral carbon atom (the second carbon is attached to four different groups: -H , -Br , -CH₃ , and -CH₂CH₃ ). The number of optical isomers for a compound with n dissimilar chiral centers is given by 2^n . For n = 1 , the number of optical isomers is 2^1 = 2 . These correspond to the (R) and (S) enantiomers. Answer: Two