Ether
Dehydration of alcohols

The dehydration of alcohols affords ethers:

This direct nucleophilic substitution reaction requires elevated temperatures (about 125 °C). The reaction is catalyzed by acids, usually sulfuric acid. The method is effective for generating symmetrical ethers, but not unsymmetrical ethers, since either OH can be protonated, which would give a mixture of products. Diethyl ether is produced from ethanol by this method. Cyclic ethers are readily generated by this approach. Elimination reactions compete with dehydration of the alcohol:

The dehydration route often requires conditions incompatible with delicate molecules. Several milder methods exist to produce ethers.
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