When alcohols react with oxidising agents, what do they become?

When alcohols react with oxidizing agents, they undergo a chemical transformation where the alcohol is oxidized. In many cases, primary alcohols can be oxidized to form carboxylic acids. This process involves the addition of oxygen or loss of hydrogen, which is characteristic of oxidation reactions.

For example, in the case of ethanol, which is a primary alcohol, when it reacts with an oxidizing agent, it first oxidizes to form acetaldehyde (an aldehyde) and can continue to be oxidized further to acetic acid, which is a carboxylic acid. Therefore, if the reaction conditions are suitable, and the alcohol is fully oxidized, the final product will be a carboxylic acid.

This pathway of oxidation differentiates alcohols in terms of their structural classification (primary, secondary, or tertiary), with primary alcohols being those that can be oxidized to carboxylic acids effectively. Thus, in the context of the reaction with oxidizing agents, the correct outcome is that alcohols, particularly primary ones, become carboxylic acids as they undergo complete oxidation.