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Updated: Jan 20, 2026
Ethers from Alcohols: Alcohol Dehydration and Williamson Ether Synthesis
Synthesis of Unsymmetrical Dialkyl Ethers via Direct Etherification Cocatalyzed Using FeCl3·6H2O and
Zhu-Cai Yang1, Pu Zhang1, Zhi-Xin Guo1
1School of Chemistry and Life Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China.
Abstract:
Herein, a mild and efficient method for synthesizing unsymmetrical dialkyl ethers via direct etherification promoted by FeCl3·6H2O and 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) is described. Carbocations produced from alcohols, cocatalyzed using FeCl3·6H2O and HFIP, resulted in unsymmetrical dialkyl ethers through a unimolecular nucleophilic substitution mechanism. Unsymmetrical dialkyl thioethers could also be efficiently prepared using a similar approach.
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Ethers from Alcohols: Alcohol Dehydration and Williamson Ether Synthesis
Ethers can be prepared from organic compounds by various methods. Some of them are discussed below,
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Ethers are organic compounds with an ether functional group which is characterized by an oxygen atom connected to two — identical or different — alkyl, aryl, or vinyl groups. The C–O–C linkage in dimethyl ether — the simplest ether — has an approximately tetrahedral bond angle of 110.3 degrees. The oxygen atom is sp3- hybridized, with the C–O distance being about 140 pm.
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