Let’s go through the steps again.
Therefore, the primary product of this reaction will be ethanoic acid.
Reaction 3
Determine the product of a reaction between 2-amino-3-hydroxypropanoic acid and 2,6-
diaminohexanoic acid in aqueous solution.
Let’s go through the steps one last time.
First, let’s draw out our molecules.
This molecule has an alkane backbone and a primary alcohol. Alcohols make good
nucleophiles and can also be oxidized. The hydroxyl group can also act as a leaving group,
especially if it gets protonated.
Next, the reagents. Dichromate is a good oxidizing agent.
The alcohol carbon is most likely to react because it is the most oxidized.
The primary product of a primary alcohol with a strong oxidant like dichromate will be a
carboxylic acid. One other possible product could have been an aldehyde, so this could trip us up!
Remember, however, that primary alcohols can only be oxidized to aldehydes by reagents
specifically designated for this purpose, like pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC). If we start with
ethanol, we’ll obtain ethanoic acid (acetic acid) after reaction with dichromate.
Stereospecificity again isn’t a consideration and won’t change the outcome in this reaction.
First, let’s draw out both molecules.