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Isopropyl alcohol is the common name for 2-propanol (CH₃–CHOH–CH₃), a secondary alcohol. The behavior of alcohols during oxidation depends on whether they are primary, secondary, or tertiary.
Primary alcohols are oxidized first to aldehydes and then further to carboxylic acids.
Secondary alcohols are oxidized to ketones.
Tertiary alcohols generally resist oxidation under normal conditions because they lack a hydrogen atom on the carbon attached to the hydroxyl group.
When isopropyl alcohol undergoes oxidation in the presence of an oxidizing agent such as acidified potassium dichromate (K₂Cr₂O₇/H₂SO₄) or potassium permanganate (KMnO₄), it is converted into propanone (CH₃–CO–CH₃), also known as acetone.
This happens because in secondary alcohols, the carbon atom bonded to the hydroxyl group is attached to two other carbon atoms. During oxidation, the hydrogen atom attached to this carbon is removed along with the hydroxyl hydrogen, resulting in the formation of a carbonyl group (C=O). The product is a ketone.
The other options do not fit:
Propane is an alkane and cannot be formed by oxidation.
Propanol is itself an alcohol, not an oxidation product.
Propanoic acid comes from oxidation of a primary alcohol or aldehyde, not from a secondary alcohol.
Therefore, the oxidation of isopropyl alcohol specifically yields propanone, an important industrial solvent and also a common laboratory reagent. This reaction is a classic example of how oxidation helps distinguish between different types of alcohols in organic chemistry.
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