Question: Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl, the oxidant in household bleach) in aqueous CH₃COOH is also touted as a “green” oxidizing agent. For example, oxidation of (CH₃)₂CHOH with NaOCl forms along with NaCl and H₂O. (a) What advantages and/or disadvantages does this method have over oxidation with HCrO₄––Amberlyst A-26 resin? (b) What advantages and/or disadvantages does this method have over oxidation with CrO₃, H₂SO_4,H₂O.

The use of harmful chemicals as reagents poses a threat to nature and humankind, creating toxic by-products.

Green chemistry aims to replace these reagents with the ones that are eco-friendly, require lesser solvents, and create by-products that are easier to dispose of.

For oxidation, the green oxidizing agents are Amberlyst A-26 reagent, NaOCl in aqueousCH₃COOH .

When (CH₃)₂CHOH is treated with NaOCl in acetic acid, the product that is obtained is shown below:

Oxidation using NaOCl

Oxidation with sodium hypochlorite produces NaCl and water as the by-products. On the other hand, with HCrO₄^- - Amberlyst A-26 resin, the by-product is a polymer-supported Cr3+ by-product.

Though the by-product formed in the latter can be filtrated out without added solvent, it still poses to be carcinogenic. In contrast, the by-product formed in the case of NaOCl poses no harm to nature and can easily be separated out.

Thus, sodium hypochlorite is advantageous over the resin reagent.

The oxidizing reagent CrO₃,H₂SO_4,H₂O contains highly corrosive sulphuric acid. The by-products formed are also harmful to nature and need proper disposal, which is not the case for sodium hypochlorite.

Hence, as a green oxidizing reagent, sodium hypochlorite is advantageous over CrO₃,H₂SO_4,H₂O .