Provide the reaction conditions for the acidic cleavage of ethers.Give an exampleof the reaction.

Question

Provide the reaction conditions for the acidic cleavage of ethers. Give an example of the reaction.

Answer 1

Hi Heyam,

Treating ether with strong acid and nucleophile will result in protonation of the ether to give an oxonium followed by an SN2 reaction to give an alcohol as well as a substitution product.

An example would be

EtOEt + HI. -------> EtI + EtOH

Let me know if anything doesn't make sense!