Ethanoic acid undergoes Hell - Volhard Zelinsky reaction but Methanoic acid does not because of
The Hell-Volhard-Zelinsky (HVZ) reaction is a valuable organic chemistry method specifically designed for the α-bromination of carboxylic acids. This reaction involves treating the carboxylic acid with phosphorus tribromide (PBr3) and a catalytic amount of red phosphorus (P).
A key characteristic of the HVZ reaction is its dependence on the presence of an α-hydrogen atom on the carboxylic acid. The α-position refers to the carbon atom directly adjacent to the carboxyl group (-COOH).
Interestingly, methanoic acid (formic acid), with the formula \(HCOOH\), *does not* undergo the HVZ reaction, while ethanoic acid (acetic acid), with the formula \(CH_3COOH\), *does*. The crucial difference lies in the presence of an α-hydrogen atom in ethanoic acid that is absent in methanoic acid.
Therefore, the reason for the difference in reactivity is due to:
(D) Presence of α-H atom in Ethanoic Acid
The reaction relies on the formation of an enol intermediate, which requires the presence of a hydrogen atom on the alpha carbon. Formic acid lacks this alpha hydrogen and thus cannot form the enol intermediate. This is why it does not react with the HVZ process.
List-I | List-II | ||
(A) | [Co(NH3)5(NO2)]Cl2 | (I) | Solvate isomerism |
(B) | [Co(NH3)5(SO4)]Br | (II) | Linkage isomerism |
(C) | [Co(NH3)6] [Cr(CN)6] | (III) | Ionization isomerism |
(D) | [Co(H2O)6]Cl3 | (IV) | Coordination isomerism |
List-I | List-II | ||
(A) | 1 mol of H2O to O2 | (I) | 3F |
(B) | 1 mol of MnO-4 to Mn2+ | (II) | 2F |
(C) | 1.5 mol of Ca from molten CaCl2 | (III) | 1F |
(D) | 1 mol of FeO to Fe2O3 | (IV) | 5F |
Organic Chemistry is a subset of chemistry dealing with compounds of carbon. Therefore, we can say that Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon compounds and is 200-225 years old. Carbon forms bond with itself to form long chains of hydrocarbons, e.g.CH4, methane and CH3-CH3 ethane. Carbon has the ability to form carbon-carbon bonds quite elaborately. Polymers like polyethylene is a linear chain where hundreds of CH2 are linked together.
Read Also: Organic Compounds
Organic chemistry is applicable in a variety of areas including-