Oxidation of Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Alcohols
Description: Samples of alcohols are added to acidic dichromate solutions, which are orange. The rate at which orange color converts to blue chromium (III) is compared for the three types of alcohols.
Source: UW Card Catalog
Year: N/A Vol: N/A Page: N/A
Keywords: Alcohols, Oxidation, Organometallic chemistry, Potassium dichromate, Functional groups
Rating: 
Hazard: High
- Acute toxicity hazard – oral, inhalation, dermal
- Carcinogenicity hazard
- Flammable liquids
- Serious eye damage
- Skin corrosion hazard
- Aquatic toxicity
- Reproductive toxicity hazard
- Germ cell mutagenicity hazard
- Aquatic toxicity hazard- short and long term
- Specific organ toxicities, repeated exposure – cardiovascular system, respiratory system, central nervous system
Effectiveness: Good
- Good connection from demo to course material
- Results are clearly observable without guidance
- Clear contrast between behavior of systems
- Low failure rate
- Time to results is medium
- Somewhat engaging to audience
- Mild effects are seen by audience
Difficulty: High
- Sequential addition of reagents
- Some concerted manipulations
- Handling of highly toxic chemicals
Safety Precautions:
- Eye protection and gloves required
- Perform on a chemically resistant surface
- Avoid exposure to droplets, mists and vapors
- Lab coat or other protective clothing required
- ABC fire extinguisher on hand
- Absorbent material on hand
- Sodium bicarbonate on hand
- Prevent release of reagents to the environment
Class: Organic Chemistry
Division: General, Organic Chemistry
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