Acidic Cleavage Definition:

A reaction in which bonds are broken in the presence of an acid. For example, in the presence of a strong acid, an ether is converted into two alkyl halides.

Acidic Cleavage Explained:

An ether will undergo acidic cleavage when heated in a concentrated solution of a strong acid. During this process, the ether is converted into two alkyl halides.

Recall that an ether follows this structure:

The reaction scheme of acidic cleavage is as follows: