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Q.Give the name with chemical formula of the reagent used for the distinction between primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols.

Meghalaya MboseMBOSE Meghalaya Intermediate Board 2018Subjective· 1mImportance★★★★★
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Lucas reagent (ZnCl2/conc. HClZnCl_2/\text{conc. }HCl) reacts with alcohols via an SN1S_N1-type mechanism, so tertiary alcohols react instantly, secondary alcohols within a few minutes, and primary alcohols not at all at room temperature — giving a simple, fast way to distinguish the three classes.

The reagent used is Lucas reagent: a mixture of anhydrous zinc chloride, ZnCl2ZnCl_2 (a Lewis acid catalyst), dissolved in concentrated hydrochloric acid, HClHCl.

When an alcohol reacts with Lucas reagent, it is converted to the corresponding water-insoluble alkyl chloride, which appears as turbidity/cloudiness (or a separate oily layer) in the otherwise clear/miscible mixture:

R−OH+HCl→ZnCl2R−Cl+H2OR{-}OH + HCl \xrightarrow{ZnCl_2} R{-}Cl + H_2O

The rate of this reaction depends on how stable the intermediate carbocation is (an SN1S_N1-like pathway favoured by the Lewis-acid activation from ZnCl2ZnCl_2):

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