Kinetic scheme of homogeneous acid-catalyzed transformation of isopentenols

The reactions occurring in an equilibrium mixture of 3-methyl-1-buten-3-ol and 3-methyl-2-buten-1-ol in 24–49 % aqueous solutions of H₂SO₄ yield isoprene, 3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol, isobutylene, formaldehyde, 3-methylbutane-1,3-diol. Isobutylene is rapidly hydrated to give 2-methylpropan-2-ol. The presence of formaldehyde in the reaction mixture indicates that the transformations involve the reverse Prins reaction. On the basis of experimental and literature data, two most probable reaction schemes were suggested.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Sertya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 867–870, May, 1995.