Q.What is decarboxylation?

Step 1. Define the term. Decarboxylation is a reaction in which a carboxyl group (-COOH, or its salt form -COO-) is removed from a molecule as carbon dioxide gas, with a hydrogen atom taking its place on the remaining chain/ring.

Step 2. Give the chapter's own worked example. Section 15.4.4 uses exactly this reaction to make benzene: anhydrous sodium benzoate (C6H5-COONa), heated with soda-lime (a mixture of NaOH and CaO), loses CO2 (trapped as sodium carbonate byproduct) and is left as benzene, C6H6. …

Defining decarboxylation and grounding it in the chapter's own sodi …

• Confusing decarboxylation (loss of CO2 from a -COOH/-COO- group) with dehydration (loss of H2O) or dehalogenation (loss of two halogens) -- each removes a different small molecule. …