Victor Meyer's reactions
In this method, the given alcohol is treated as follows:
It is
treated with phosphorus and iodine to get the corresponding iodoalkane.
The iodoalkane is then treated with silver nitrite to get the corresponding nitroalkane.
The nitroalkane is then treated with nitrous acid (mixture of NaNO2 and
H2SO4), and the resulting solution is made alkaline.
The colour of the solution is observed.
Primary alcohols give blood red colouration.
Secondary alcohols give blue colour.
Tertiary alcohols give no colouration.
Primary alcohol:
Secondary alcohol:
Tertiary alcohol: