[Ilovescience]

Hi! I've performed a lab exercise where I dehydrated cyclohexanol to cyclohexene, with phosphoric acid as the acid catalyst. I'm pretty sure this follows an E1 mechanism, but I don't have any good facts to substantiate this. I know that secondary alcohols can go both E1 and E2. I also know that strong bases favor E2, and since phosphoric acid is a strong acid, its conjugate base will be weak, and hence the base that attacks the beta hydrogen would be weak, and therefor the reaction will follow E1. Is this the only explanation? please help me.

Thanks.