Cholor ethane reacts with X to form diethyl ether. What is X ?

Options

A. NaOH
B. `H_2SO_4`
C. `C_2H_5ONa`
D. `Na_2S_2O_3`

Explanation

To determine the substance X that reacts with chloroethane (C2H5Cl) to form diethyl ether (C2H5)2O, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Identify the reactants and products
- We have chloroethane (C2H5Cl) as one reactant.
- The product formed is diethyl ether, which has the structure (C2H5)2O.

### Step 2: Understand the reaction type
- The formation of diethyl ether from chloroethane suggests a reaction involving the nucleophilic substitution mechanism or a condensation reaction.
- Diethyl ether can be formed by the reaction of two molecules of chloroethane with a suitable nucleophile.

### Step 3: Determine the suitable nucleophile
- To form diethyl ether from chloroethane, we need a nucleophile that can replace the chlorine atom in chloroethane.
- A common nucleophile that can facilitate this reaction is an alkoxide ion (C2H5O^-).

### Step 4: Identify the source of the alkoxide ion
- The alkoxide ion can be generated from sodium ethoxide (C2H5ONa), which dissociates in solution to give C2H5O^- and Na^+.
- Therefore, the substance X must be sodium ethoxide (C2H5ONa).

### Step 5: Write the balanced reaction
- The balanced reaction can be represented as follows:
\[ 2 \text{C2H5Cl} + \text{C2H5ONa} \rightarrow \text{(C2H5)2O} + \text{NaCl} \]

### Conclusion
Thus, the substance X that reacts with chloroethane to form diethyl ether is **sodium ethoxide (C2H5ONa)**.

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