Using Potassium Permanganate
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Organic Chemistry › Using Potassium Permanganate
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What is the product when 1-propanol is treated with potassium permanganate?
Propanoic acid
CORRECT
Propanal
1-propanone
No reaction occurs
None of these
Explanation
Potassium permanganate is a strong oxidizing agent. It can convert secondary alcohols to ketones. It can also convert primary alcohols to carboxylic acids. 1-propanol has a hydroxy group on carbon 1, so it is primary; thus it will be converted to propanoic acid.