Which reagent is used to convert a haloalkane to an alcohol under reflux?

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Multiple Choice

Which reagent is used to convert a haloalkane to an alcohol under reflux?

To turn a haloalkane into an alcohol under reflux, you replace the halogen with a hydroxide, using a strong base as the nucleophile. Potassium hydroxide provides the OH− that attacks the carbon bearing the leaving group, displacing X− and forming the alcohol after workup. Heating (reflux) helps drive this substitution, especially for primary and secondary haloalkanes via SN2 (or SN1 routes for more hindered cases in protic media). The other reagents play different roles: thionyl chloride is typically used to convert alcohols to alkyl chlorides; sulfuric acid can promote hydrolysis only under harsh conditions and is not the standard method for haloalkane to alcohol under reflux; phosphorus tribromide converts alcohols to alkyl bromides, not haloalkanes to alcohols.

To turn a haloalkane into an alcohol under reflux, you replace the halogen with a hydroxide, using a strong base as the nucleophile. Potassium hydroxide provides the OH− that attacks the carbon bearing the leaving group, displacing X− and forming the alcohol after workup. Heating (reflux) helps drive this substitution, especially for primary and secondary haloalkanes via SN2 (or SN1 routes for more hindered cases in protic media). The other reagents play different roles: thionyl chloride is typically used to convert alcohols to alkyl chlorides; sulfuric acid can promote hydrolysis only under harsh conditions and is not the standard method for haloalkane to alcohol under reflux; phosphorus tribromide converts alcohols to alkyl bromides, not haloalkanes to alcohols.

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