What are the products when a carboxylic acid is treated with ammonia solution?

Master NCEA Level 3 Organic Chemistry Reaction Schemes. Prepare with multiple choice questions, complete with hints and detailed explanations. Ace your exam with our comprehensive tools!

Multiple Choice

What are the products when a carboxylic acid is treated with ammonia solution?

Ammonia behaves as a base here and abstracts a proton from the carboxyl group, producing a carboxylate anion and the ammonium cation. In solution this pair forms the ammonium carboxylate salt (RCOO− NH4+). The reaction is an acid–base transfer, so you don’t end up with the neutral carboxylic acid, nor with an alcohol or an ester, which would require completely different reactions. The essential idea is that the acidic proton of a carboxyl group is readily donated to ammonia, yielding the carboxylate salt as the product.

Ammonia behaves as a base here and abstracts a proton from the carboxyl group, producing a carboxylate anion and the ammonium cation. In solution this pair forms the ammonium carboxylate salt (RCOO− NH4+). The reaction is an acid–base transfer, so you don’t end up with the neutral carboxylic acid, nor with an alcohol or an ester, which would require completely different reactions. The essential idea is that the acidic proton of a carboxyl group is readily donated to ammonia, yielding the carboxylate salt as the product.

More practice questions