Oxidation+of+Primary+Alcohols

=Oxidation of Primary Alcohols=

A primary alcohol is an alcohol that has a -CH2OH group on it. When a primary alcohol is oxidized it is changed into a carboxylic acid. This is a very important process in organic chemistry. KMnO4 is commonly used to oxidize primary alcohols and it is done by adding some KMnO4 to a solution/suspension of the alcohol in a aqueous, alkaline substance. For this reaction to occur efficiently the alcohol must be a least partially dissolved in the solution, so sometimes an organic "co-solvent" is added to help it dissolve.



Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxidation_of_primary_alcohols_to_carboxylic_acids