[engineer]

i never knew there's a test for carbocation  

in the lab we did the following to "test for carbocation"
we dissolved the sample in minimal methanol then add conc H2SO4 dropwise... the samples were alcohol and ketone.

alcohol ---> yellow then white then colourless  
with ketone ---> turned yellow

i dont recall seeing such a chemical test. anyone know this? and what the +ve result is?

Thanx  

[arnyk]

Alcohol + Alcohol -> Ether
Alcohol + Ketone -> Acetal

Both dehydration synthesis requiring conc. sulphuric acid.

A carbocation is an ion with a positively-charged carbon atom.

[Alberto_Kravina]

Alcohol + Alcohol -> Ether

Beware: An alkene could be a byproduct

R-OH + HO-R¹ --H₂SO₄-->R-O-R¹ + H₂O
R-CH₂OH ----H₂SO₄ ---> R-CH=CH₂ + H₂O

[engineer]

Thanks everyone  

in terms of chemical tests... do u know if the yellow colour formed with ketone is referred to as a positive result for this test? so any ketone under this test will form yellow? or not necessarily

thank you  :happy: