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How will you bring about the following conversion?
Ethyl chloride to propanoic acid
Answer
Answer
Official answer keyEquations: $\mathrm{C_{2}H_{5}Cl} + \mathrm{KCN} \xrightarrow{\text{alc.}\text{ }\text{KCN}} \mathrm{C_{2}H_{5}CN} + \mathrm{KCl}$ $\mathrm{C_{2}H_{5}CN} + 2\mathrm{H_{2}O} + \mathrm{HCl} \xrightarrow{\text{H+}\text{,}\text{ }\mathrm{H_{2}O}\text{ }\text{(hydrolysis)}} \mathrm{C_{2}H_{5}COOH} + \mathrm{NH_{4}Cl}$
Ethyl chloride gives ethyl cyanide with alc. KCN, which is hydrolysed to propanoic acid.
From ISC 2026 Specimen Chemistry Paper 1, question 3(ii).