Question

Lucas test is used for the determination of

• A. alcohols
• B. alkyl halides
• C. phenols
• D. aldehydes

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

Lucas test - Alcohol reacts with concentrated hydrochloric acid in presence of anhydrous $ZnC{l}_2$ to form alkyl halides. The three type of alcohols undergo this reaction at different rates. Order of rate of reaction is : tertiary > secondary > primary.

$R-OH+HCl\stackrel{ZnC{l}_2}{\to }\underset{\text{Alkyl chloride}}{R-Cl+H_{2}O}$