Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry
Hydration:
A process which adds
water
. A substance which absorbs
water
spontaneously from its surroundings is
hygroscopic
. A hygroscopic substance which absorbs so much
water
that it becomes an
aqueous
solution of the substance is
deliquescent
.
In this hydration reaction, 1-
methyl
cyclohexene
(an
alkene
) is reacted with
aqueous
H
3
O
+
(formed from
water
and a strong
acid
such as
H
2
SO
4
), resulting in
Markovnikov addition
of
water
across the
pi bond
. The
product
is an
alcohol
.
Syn
,
anti-Markovnikov addition
of
water
to an
alkene
can be achieved via a
hydroboration-oxidation reaction
.
CoCl
2
anhydrous
CoCl
2
.6
H
2
O
Addition of water to
anhydrous
CoCl
2
(blue) forms the
hexahydrate
(red).
Click to watch a CoCl
2
dehydration/hydration video
.
Related terms:
Desiccation
,
hydroxide ion
,
oxymercuration-demercuration
,
dehydration
,
wavy line
,
wedge
Wikipedia entries:
Hydration
Hygroscopic
Deliquescent
Return to glossary index