What are oxidising agents and how do they oxidise alcohols to acids?
Understand the Problem
The text discusses the concept of oxidizing agents in chemistry, specifically the substances that can add oxygen to other substances, such as alkaline potassium permanganate and acidified potassium dichromate. It illustrates the oxidation of alcohols to acids.
Answer
Oxidizing agents transform primary alcohols into carboxylic acids by adding oxygen.
Oxidizing agents are compounds that can add oxygen to other substances or remove hydrogen from them. Common oxidizing agents like potassium permanganate (KMnO4) and potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) oxidize primary alcohols to carboxylic acids by converting them to aldehydes first and then to acids.
Answer for screen readers
Oxidizing agents are compounds that can add oxygen to other substances or remove hydrogen from them. Common oxidizing agents like potassium permanganate (KMnO4) and potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) oxidize primary alcohols to carboxylic acids by converting them to aldehydes first and then to acids.
More Information
Oxidizing agents play a crucial role in organic chemistry reactions, enabling the conversion of alcohols to acids, which is essential in various chemical synthesis processes.
Tips
A common mistake is to assume that all alcohols can be oxidized similarly, but tertiary alcohols do not undergo oxidation easily.
Sources
- The Oxidation of Alcohols - Chemistry LibreTexts - chem.libretexts.org
- Alcohol Oxidation: 'Strong' & 'Weak' Oxidants - masterorganicchemistry.com
- oxidation of alcohols - Chemguide - chemguide.co.uk
