[limpet chicken]

KMnO4 will oxidise alcohols to ketones if done CAREFULLY, in dilute concentration, both chemicals being prechilled to as near as 0 degrees as is possible.


Otherwise, if heated or concentrated, it will take the alcohol straight to the carboxylic acid in my experience.

[constant thinker]

Do not mix hydrogen peroxide with organic acids!!! That is a very dangerous thing to do.~Mitch

[limpet chicken]

Mitch, what about in creation of peracids? that is a perfectly valid reason for the peroxidation of an organic acid, to make peracetic/performic acid for epoxidation of propenylbenzenes/allylbenzenes.

And for oxidising organics there are cases, when dilute peroxide (I'm talking from 3% to 10% solution) can be very good as a selective oxidant for complex alcohols to ketones.

[Alberto_Kravina]

Alberto_Kravina –
How did you pure ethanol or was it denatured?
Regards,
Bill

It wasn´t denaturated! I think that you can´t use denaturated EtOH to make this reaction bacause maybe the substance used to denaturate EtOH (I think that it is Pyridine but I´m not sure) can interfer in the reaction.

[jdurg]

Many times methanol is added to anhydrous ethanol in order to denature it.  This is because the chemistry of methanol and ethanol are so similar that any reactions involving the ethanol won't be altered too severely by the methanol.  However, the presence of the methanol makes the ethanol unsuitable for drinking.  In addition, it's a bit difficult separating the methanol from the ethanol.