Final answer:
Unreacted t-pentyl alcohol can be removed from t-pentyl chloride utilizing their different water solubility properties; t-pentyl alcohol is somewhat soluble while t-pentyl chloride is not.
Step-by-step explanation:
To remove unreacted t-pentyl alcohol from the product in an experiment, you can use its solubility properties. t-Pentyl alcohol and t-pentyl chloride have different solubilities in water due to their molecular structures. While smaller alcohols like methanol are highly soluble in water due to their ability to engage in hydrogen bonding with water molecules, larger alcohols like pentanol have more limited solubility.
For instance, only about 2.6 g of pentanol will dissolve in 100 g of H₂O. On the other hand, most alkyl halides are insoluble in water. Because t-pentyl alcohol is a larger alcohol, it will be less soluble in water compared to smaller alcohols, but it has greater solubility than t-pentyl chloride. Therefore, by using water as a solvent, unreacted t-pentyl alcohol can be separated from t-pentyl chloride due to the differing solubilities.