(a) Name an alcohol and a carboxylic acid having two carbon atoms in their structures. Draw their structures…
(a) Name an alcohol and a carboxylic acid having two carbon atoms in their structures. Draw their structures and state how this alcohol can be converted into a carboxylic acid. What happens when these two compounds react in the presence of an acid ? Write chemical equations for the reactions involved in the two cases mentioned above.
Solution
(a) Ethanol and Ethanoic acid
Structure of ethanol (CH3CH2OH) and ethanoic acid (CH3COOH)
On adding alkaline KMnO4 /acidified K2Cr2O7 to alcohol, it gets oxidised to Carboxylic acid.
An Ester is formed
C2H5OH $\xrightarrow{\text{(Alkaline KMnO4, heat)}}$ CH3COOH
C2H5OH + CH3COOH $\xrightarrow{\text{(Acid Catalyst)}}$ CH3COOC2H5 + H2O