form diethyl ether and sodium chloride:

Mechanism

The Williamson ether reaction follows an S_N2 (bimolecular nucleophilic substitution) mechanism. In an S_N2 reaction mechanism there is a backside attack of an electrophile by a nucleophile and it occurs in a concerted mechanism (happens all at once). In order for the S_N2 reaction to take place there must be a good leaving group which is strongly electronegative,

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