HYPOCHLORITE OXIDATION

OF

METHYL ETHYL KETONE

The oxidation of a methyl ketone with hypochlorite (OCl -) results in the formation of a carboxylic acid salt and chloroform, and is a special case of the so-called haloform reaction. The general equation for this type of synthesis is: 2 RCOCH3 + 6 Ca(OCl)2 -> (RCOO)2Ca + 3 CaCl2 + 2 Ca(OH)2 + 2 CHCl3 (in this case, R represents the ethyl radical, or C2H5-). Calcium Hypochlorite Oxidation of Methyl Ethyl Ketone

Using methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) as the ketone and either calcium hypochlorite (bleaching powder) or sodium hypochlorite (Chlorox), we can get propionic acid and chloroform as products. With the procedure below, using calcium hypochlorite, the yield of chloroform is ~45% and that of propionic acid is ~40%, calculated on methyl ethyl ketone.