Which product forms when a secondary alcohol is oxidized?

Which product forms when a secondary alcohol is oxidized?

• A. Aldehyde
• B. Ketone
• C. Carboxylic acid
• D. Alcohol

Answer: (B)

When you oxidize an alcohol, the outcome depends on how many carbon groups are attached to the carbon bearing the OH. For a secondary alcohol, that carbon already has two carbon substituents, so removing the oxygen as a carbonyl forms a ketone: R-CO-R'. The carbon that used to hold the OH becomes the carbonyl carbon, and it stays bonded to the two carbon groups, giving a molecule with a C=O and two alkyl sides. A concrete example helps: isopropanol (CH3-CHOH-CH3) oxidizes to acetone (CH3-CO-CH3). Under typical oxidizing conditions, this stops at the ketone rather than going on to a carboxylic acid, which is what happens with primary alcohols under stronger oxidation. The starting alcohol isn’t the product, and an aldehyde or carboxylic acid wouldn’t form from a secondary alcohol under ordinary conditions.

When you oxidize an alcohol, the outcome depends on how many carbon groups are attached to the carbon bearing the OH. For a secondary alcohol, that carbon already has two carbon substituents, so removing the oxygen as a carbonyl forms a ketone: R-CO-R'. The carbon that used to hold the OH becomes the carbonyl carbon, and it stays bonded to the two carbon groups, giving a molecule with a C=O and two alkyl sides.

A concrete example helps: isopropanol (CH3-CHOH-CH3) oxidizes to acetone (CH3-CO-CH3). Under typical oxidizing conditions, this stops at the ketone rather than going on to a carboxylic acid, which is what happens with primary alcohols under stronger oxidation. The starting alcohol isn’t the product, and an aldehyde or carboxylic acid wouldn’t form from a secondary alcohol under ordinary conditions.