Hello,
I had a lab about calorimetry and one of the questions was if the reaction of acetone with hypochlorite is an oxidation/reduction or acid/base.
Would the answer be: oxidation/reduction
because the oxygen from the hydroxide from the Sodium hydroxide detaches and joins the Chlorine from the Chlorine gas? The Sodium also forms a bond with the other CHlorine. Is this correct?
You have the reaction right, however, oxygen does not join the chlorine. Things are oxidation or reduction because electrons detach and move from species to species.
so the oxygen molecule detachs from the Hydroxide and moves to electronegative species right?
I got it, oxidation state of reactants is going to be (+5) and products (-4) so it's an oxidation reaction, thanks for the info Bob!
To determine whether the reaction of acetone with hypochlorite is an oxidation/reduction or acid/base reaction, we need to analyze the changes in oxidation states and the transfer of electrons.
In this reaction, acetone (C₃H₆O) reacts with hypochlorite (OCl⁻) in the presence of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as a catalyst. The balanced chemical equation for this reaction is:
CH₃COCH₃ + OCl⁻ → CH₃COCHCl₂ + OH⁻
To determine if this is an oxidation/reduction reaction, we need to examine the changes in oxidation states. In this case, the chlorine atom in hypochlorite (OCl⁻) is going from an oxidation state of -1 to 0 in the product CH₃COCHCl₂. This indicates that the chlorine is being reduced by gaining an electron. At the same time, the carbon atom in acetone (C₃H₆O) is going from an oxidation state of 0 to +2 in the product CH₃COCHCl₂. This indicates that the carbon is being oxidized by losing electron density.
Based on these changes, we can conclude that the reaction of acetone with hypochlorite is indeed an oxidation/reduction reaction. The chlorine in hypochlorite is reduced, while the carbon in acetone is oxidized.
It is important to note that this reaction involves both oxidation/reduction and acid/base chemistry. The sodium hydroxide catalyst reacts with acetone and deprotonates it, generating the OH⁻ ion. This OH⁻ ion then reacts with hypochlorite to form water and chloride ion. However, the main focus of the question seems to be on the oxidation/reduction aspect.