Q.Write the chemical equation for the Williamson synthesis of 2-ethoxy-2-methylpentane starting from ethanol and 2-methylpentan-2-ol.

Step 1. Step 1: convert ethanol to a PRIMARY alkyl halide: CH3-CH2-OH + HBr (or PBr3) gives CH3-CH2-Br (bromoethane).

Step 2. Step 2: convert 2-methylpentan-2-ol, (CH3)2C(OH)-CH2-CH2-CH3, to its sodium alkoxide: 2-methylpentan-2-ol + Na gives sodium 2-methylpentan-2-oxide + 1/2 H2.

Step 3. Step 3 (Williamson coupling): the primary bromoethane undergoes SN2 attack by the tertiary alkoxide's oxygen, giving 2-ethoxy-2-methylpentane + NaBr. …

Assign the primary alcohol's derived halide as the SN2 electrophile and the tertiary alcohol's derived alkoxide as t …

• Reversing the pairing -- converting 2-methylpentan-2-ol to its halide and ethanol to its alkoxide would push the reaction toward eliminati …