Acetic acid can be halogenated in presence of phosphorus and chlorine. Formic acid cannot be halogenated…

Acetic acid can be halogenated in presence of phosphorus and chlorine. Formic acid cannot be halogenated with same way because of
  1. presence of α -H-atom in formic acid
  2. absence of α -H-atom in formic acid
  3. absence of α -H-atom in CH3COOH
  4. higher acidic strength of acetic acid than formic acid

Solution

HVZ reaction is given by only those carboxylic acids which have α -H-atom. CH3COOH has three α -H-atoms but formic acid does not have α -H-atom hence formic acid cannot be halogenated.
For e.g. CH 3 COOH +  Cl 2 → P 4 Δ ClCH 2 COOH + HCl

Asked in: JEE-TOPICTESTS-CHEMISTRY

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