Question

Give the chemical test to distinguish:

Dimethyl ether and ethyl alcohol.

Answer 1

Dimethyl ether and ethyl alcohol:

C₂H₅OH, when heated with I₂and NaOH, gives yellow precipitate crystals of iodoform (Iodoform test) whereas diethyl ether does not give a yellow precipitate with I₂ and NaOH.

\[\ce{C2H5OH + 4I2 + 6NaOH->[Heat]\underset{\text{Iodoform (yellow ppt.)}}{CHI3} + 5HCOONa + 5NaI + 3H2O}\]