[Bob Sacamano]

I've been learning about the acid catalyzed dehydration of alcohols and I was wondering if instead of using a strong acid to dehydrate the alcohol you could use a strong base such as NH₂^- to pull a hydrogen off a carbon adjacent to the hydroxyl group (as in the case of removing a Br- ion to form a double bond). Would this work?

[rabolisk]

I think this belongs in the organic chemistry forum. Nevertheless, base catalysis doesn't work because OH^- is not a good enough leaving group. Acid catalysis converts it to a good leaving group, which is key to dehydration.