Question

Complete the equations for these oxidations. (a) \(\mathrm{Hexanal}+\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{2} \longrightarrow\) (b) 3 -Phenylpropanal \(+\) Tollens' reagent \(\longrightarrow\)

Short answer

Question: Identify the products and write the balanced chemical equations for the oxidation of the following aldehydes: (a) Hexanal with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), (b) 3-phenylpropanal with Tollens' reagent. Answer: (a) The product of hexanal oxidation with hydrogen peroxide is hexanoic acid. The balanced chemical equation is: CH₃(CH₂)₄CHO + H₂O₂ → CH₃(CH₂)₄COOH + H₂O. (b) The product of 3-phenylpropanal oxidation with Tollens' reagent is 3-phenylpropanoic acid. The balanced chemical equation is: C₆H₅CH₂CH₂CHO + [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ + OH⁻ → C₆H₅CH₂CH₂COOH + Ag + NH₃ + H₂O.

Step-by-step solution

Identify the functional groups in the reactants

Hexanal is an aldehyde with the structure CH₃(CH₂)₄CHO. 3-Phenylpropanal is also an aldehyde with the structure C₆H₅CH₂CH₂CHO.

Determine the oxidation process of the aldehydes

In both cases, we have aldehydes reacting with oxidizing agents. Aldehydes can be oxidized to carboxylic acids. In general, the oxidation reaction for an aldehyde can be described as follows: RCHO + [O] → RCOOH, where R represents an alkyl or aryl group.

Identify the products for the given oxidations

(a) For hexanal, the oxidation product would be hexanoic acid, with a structure of CH₃(CH₂)₄COOH. (b) For 3-phenylpropanal, the oxidation product would be 3-phenylpropanoic acid, with a structure of C₆H₅CH₂CH₂COOH.

Write the balanced chemical equations

(a) For the reaction between hexanal and hydrogen peroxide, the balanced chemical equation would be: \(\displaystyle \mathrm{CH}_{3}( \mathrm{CH}_{2})_{4} \mathrm{CHO}+\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{2} \longrightarrow \mathrm{CH}_{3}( \mathrm{CH}_{2})_{4} \mathrm{COOH}+\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}\) (b) For the reaction between 3-phenylpropanal and Tollens' reagent, the balanced chemical equation would be: \(\displaystyle \mathrm{C}_{6} \mathrm{H}_{5} \mathrm{CH}_{2} \mathrm{CH}_{2} \mathrm{CHO}+\mathrm{[} \mathrm{Ag(NH}_{3})_{2}^+ + \mathrm{OH}^- \mathrm{]} \longrightarrow \mathrm{C}_{6} \mathrm{H}_{5} \mathrm{CH}_{2} \mathrm{CH}_{2} \mathrm{COOH}+\mathrm{Ag}+\mathrm{NH}_{3}+\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}\)