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Chemistry · L4 · Alcohol oxidation ladder: primary vs secondary vs tertiary

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How primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols behave under oxidation — full ladder to carboxylic acid, stop at ketone, or no reaction at all.

by @openstemUpdated Chemistry
Primary alcoholR-CH2OH(e.g. ethanol)AldehydeR-CHO(e.g. acetaldehyde)Carboxylic acidR-COOH(e.g. acetic acid)Secondary alcoholR2CH-OH(e.g. isopropanol)KetoneR2C=O(e.g. acetone)Tertiary alcoholR3C-OH(e.g. tert-butanol)No reaction(no H on C-OH carbon)Blocked under normalconditions (needs C-C cleavage)KMnO4 or Cr2O7²⁻ (-2H, mild/controlled)KMnO4 or Cr2O7²⁻ (further oxidation)KMnO4 or Cr2O7²⁻ (-2H)would need C-C cleavageno H on C-OH carbon

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