Concept:The reaction depicts the final step in the industrial hydration of ethene. Ethyl hydrogen sulfate is hydrolyzed by water to yield ethanol and regenerate sulfuric acid.
Formula:Not strictly necessary, but mathematically it is the addition of \(\text{H}_2\text{O}\) elements over the entire process.
Solution:- The reactant reacts with water (\(\text{H}_2\text{O}\)) and incorporates the elements of water (H and OH) into the final organic framework (if we consider the overall mechanism from ethene).
- In chemical terms, treating the alkyl sulfate with water to replace the sulfate group with a hydroxyl group is technically hydrolysis, but in the context of the overall synthesis from alkenes, this step completes the hydration sequence.
Why other options are incorrect:It is not reduction or oxidation as the oxidation states of the carbons do not change. It is not hydroxylation (which usually implies adding two -OH groups across a double bond via osmium tetroxide or cold permanganate).
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