Answer to Question #205668 in Organic Chemistry for Jessica

Question

Describe the reagents and method to oxidise 1-butanol to butanoic acid. state what would you observe and give equation for the reaction.

Describe how would you modify your method to obtain butanal.

Answer 1

Butan-1-ol (1-butanol) is a primary alkanol, the OH functional group is attached to a terminal (end) carbon atom. Oxidation of a primary alkanol produces firstly an alkanal, and then the alkanal can be further oxidised to produce the alkanoic acid.