organic question

[LTami]

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Q: what compound will undergo an oxidation reaction without the cleavage of any covalent bond between two carbons?
A. t-butyl alcohol
B. ethyl methyl ketone
C. acetaladehyde
D. acetate
E. all of the above

I don't know what the question is asking for. Can someone explain it to me?
The answer for this question is C.

 

[floopy]

Choice C: acetaldehyde (an aldehyde) can be oxidized to ethanoic acid (a carboxylic acid) using a reagent such as chromic acid (Cr2O7) or permanganate (KMnO4). The C-C carbon bond remains uncleaved.

Choice A: t-butyl alcohol is a tertiary alcohol, so it can't undergo oxidation using chromic acid or permanganate. You would need to cleave a C-C bond with some other reagent to further oxidize it.

Choice B: ethyl methyl ketone, is a ketone, so it can't be oxidized unless you cleave a C-C bond. If you were given a secondary alcohol instead of a ketone, then you'd be able to oxidize it to a ketone using chromic acid or permanganate.

Choice D: acetate, is the salt of acetic acid. Simply protonating the anionic oxygen of acetate to form acetic acid neither reduces nor oxidizes the molecule. I don't know how you would oxidize acetate, but it would most certainly involve cleaving the C-C bond.