Explain decarboxylation with examples. Or,provide the product obtained from the carboxylic acid method with examples.

Vedclass pdf generator app on play store
Vedclass iOS app on app store
(N/A) Sodium salts of carboxylic acids,when heated with soda lime (a mixture of sodium hydroxide and calcium oxide),yield alkanes containing one carbon atom less than the parent carboxylic acid. This process of eliminating carbon dioxide from a carboxylic acid is known as decarboxylation.
$RCOOH \xrightarrow{\text{Soda lime, } \Delta} RH + Na_2CO_3$
Soda lime is a mixture of sodium hydroxide $(NaOH)$ and calcium oxide $(CaO)$. The $NaOH$ in soda lime reacts with the carboxylic acid to form its sodium salt.
Example-$1$: Preparation of methane from ethanoic acid (acetic acid).
$CH_3COONa + NaOH \xrightarrow{CaO, \Delta} CH_4 + Na_2CO_3$
Example-$2$: Preparation of ethane from propanoic acid.
$CH_3CH_2COONa + NaOH \xrightarrow{CaO, \Delta} C_2H_6 + Na_2CO_3$

Explore More

Similar Questions

The order of strengths of the following carboxylic acids is:
$(i)$ $CH_3-CH_2-COOH$
$(ii)$ $CH_3-COOH$
$(iii)$ $C_6H_5-COOH$
$(iv)$ $C_6H_5-CH_2-COOH$

The most suitable reagent for the given conversion is

Which of the following compounds would you expect to be the strongest carbon acid?

Difficult
View Solution

The product of the reaction is:

Difficult
View Solution

Ethyl benzoate reacts with $PCl_5$ to give

Difficult
View Solution

Vedclass Products

For Students

Vedclass Test Series

Mock tests in real JEE/NEET style with performance analysis. 5-day free trial.

Start Free Trial
For Teachers

Exam Paper Generator

Generate Set A/B/C/D exam papers from 7.5L+ questions in 2 minutes. 3 chapters free.

Try Free
For Institutes

Online Exam Module

Live online exams with unlimited students, 360° analytics & white-label branding.

See Demo