Carboxylic acids continued

XXU XXII, 1st 1935 3242-3457 One Cyclic Nitrogen (continued). Carboxylic acids Nicotinic acid, 38. 

Carboxylic acids are very soluble in alcohols because the acids form hydrogen bonds with alcohols. Also, alcohols are not as polar as water, so the longer-chain acids are more soluble in alcohols than they are in water. Most carboxylic acids are quite soluble in relatively nonpolar solvents such as chloroform because the acid continues to exist in its dimeric form in the nonpolar solvent. Thus, the hydrogen bonds of the cyclic dimer are not disrupted when the acid dissolves in a nonpolar solvent. 

Kolbe synthesis — The definition and use of the terms - Kolbe synthesis, K. reaction, K. electrolysis, and K. process are not very clearly distinguished and often bear different nuances of meaning. Kolbe electrolysis or synthesis mainly accounts for the anodic oxidation of carboxylic acids or carboxylates, followed by a decarboxylation step, when concentrated aqueous solutions of the respective carboxylates are electrolyzed. Kolbe picked up earlier results from -> Faraday on the electrolysis of acetic acid or acetate solutions to CO2 and ethane [i] and continued these experiments during 1843-1845 with further homologs as, e.g., valerianic acid [ii]. The carboxy-late R-COO- is anodically oxidized to form an unstable radical R-COO, which is stabilizing via a decarboxylation reaction, leaving radical rest R ... 

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