Substituent effects in acid-catalyzed hydration of alkenes, measured under consistent reaction conditions

A set of convenient conditions for the title reaction is used to determine directly relative reactivities of alkenes with widely-varying steric requirements. Previous determinations did not use one set of conditions for all alkenes, but developed parameters in order to compare alkene reaction rates run in different solvents and in different concentrations; such an indirect reactivity comparison can introduce errors. Relative rates established under this common set of reaction conditions are compared to those previously calculated by using correction parameters. Comparison reveals that the approximate method overestimated effects of some groups attached to CC, such as methyl and chloro.