9.31C - Ethanol oxidation to ethanoic acid
Ethanol can be oxidised to ethanoic acid. Learn what changes in the molecule and use the same carbon-chain pattern to predict products from the other alcohols studied here.
What oxidation changes
Ethanol, CH3CH2OH, can undergo controlled oxidation to ethanoic acid, CH3COOH. The carbon chain stays two atoms long. The end CH2OH becomes COOH: the organic molecule gains oxygen and loses hydrogen.
Using [O] for oxygen supplied by an oxidising agent, the balanced equation is:
CH3CH2OH + 2[O] → CH3COOH + H2O
Both sides contain 2 C, 6 H and 3 O atoms. [O] is a shorthand for supplied oxygen, not a formula for a named reagent. Naming reagents or conditions is not required for 9.31C.
Controlled oxidation preserves the carbon chain in a carboxylic acid. Complete combustion instead produces carbon dioxide and water. Combustion is also oxidation, so the intended reaction and products matter.
Keeping the carbon chain
For the alcohols in this table, keep the carbon count and change the alcohol into the matching acid. In propan-1-ol and butan-1-ol, the OH is on an end carbon. This pattern must not be assumed for every possible alcohol structure.
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