Final answer:
The hydration of an alkene using sulfuric acid as a catalyst results in the formation of an alcohol. Sulfuric acid helps form a carbocation intermediate which is then attacked by a water molecule, leading to the alcohol product. The sulfuric acid is regenerated in the reaction.
Step-by-step explanation:
The reaction between an alkene and sulfuric acid followed by the addition of water (H₂O) is a hydration reaction that results in the formation of an alcohol. Sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) serves as a catalyst and facilitates the addition of water across the double bond of the alkene. In this hydration reaction, the alkene is converted into an alcohol, where the OH group from water is added to one of the carbon atoms of the alkene double bond, and a hydrogen atom is added to the other carbon.
Following the catalytic step where the alkene forms a carbocation intermediate in the presence of sulfuric acid, the nucleophilic water molecule attacks the carbocation, leading to the formation of an oxonium ion. A subsequent deprotonation by another water molecule yields the final alcohol product. Throughout the progression of these steps, HSO⁴ may act as nucleophile, but due to its lower nucleophilicity compared to water, it gets replaced by H₂O under the given reaction conditions.
The overall balanced chemical equation representing the hydration of an alkene (e.g., ethene) would be:
C₂H₄ (g) + H₂SO₄ (aq) + H₂O (l) → C₂H₅OH (l) + H₂SO₄ (aq)
This equation represents the catalytic role of sulfuric acid as it is regenerated in the reaction and is not consumed.