Oxidation of a primary alcohol using Jones oxidation yields which product?

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Multiple Choice

Oxidation of a primary alcohol using Jones oxidation yields which product?

Jones oxidation uses a strong Cr(VI) oxidant in aqueous acid, which pushes primary alcohols all the way to carboxylic acids. The alcohol is first oxidized to an aldehyde, but under these conditions that aldehyde is rapidly further oxidized to the carboxylic acid. That’s why the end product is a carboxylic acid. If a milder oxidant were used (for example, PCC or Swern), you could stop at the aldehyde. A ketone would come from oxidizing a secondary alcohol, not a primary one, and the alcohol starting material is not left unchanged under Jones conditions.

Jones oxidation uses a strong Cr(VI) oxidant in aqueous acid, which pushes primary alcohols all the way to carboxylic acids. The alcohol is first oxidized to an aldehyde, but under these conditions that aldehyde is rapidly further oxidized to the carboxylic acid. That’s why the end product is a carboxylic acid.

If a milder oxidant were used (for example, PCC or Swern), you could stop at the aldehyde. A ketone would come from oxidizing a secondary alcohol, not a primary one, and the alcohol starting material is not left unchanged under Jones conditions.

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