Alcohol Dehydration with POCl₃/Pyridine (E2, No Rearrangements): Mechanism + Exam Traps

Use POCl₃/pyridine to dehydrate alcohols via E2: avoid carbocations, avoid rearrangements, and control alkene formation.

• Reaction: Alcohol Dehydration with POCl₃/Pyridine (E2, No Rearrangements)
• What it does: Use POCl₃/pyridine to dehydrate alcohols via E2: avoid carbocations, avoid rearrangements, and control alkene formation.
• Typical reagents: POCl3, pyridine
• Key intermediate: Carbocation
• Driving force: Formation/capture of a stabilized cation
• Exam type: Mechanism choice
• Exam type: Predict major product
• Exam type: Stereochemistry