Hydrolysis of trichloro methane with aqueous KOH gives

Options

A. Methanol
B. Ethanol
C. Acetic acid
D. Formic acid

Answer

To solve the question regarding the hydrolysis of trichloromethane (CHCl3) with aqueous KOH, we can follow these steps:

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Identify the Reactants**:
- The reactant is trichloromethane (CHCl3), also known as chloroform.
- The other reactant is aqueous KOH, which provides hydroxide ions (OH⁻) for the reaction.

2. **Understand the Reaction Type**:
- The reaction is a nucleophilic substitution reaction. In this case, the hydroxide ions from KOH will act as nucleophiles and substitute the chlorine atoms in trichloromethane.

3. **Substitution of Chlorine Atoms**:
- Trichloromethane has three chlorine atoms attached to a carbon atom. During hydrolysis, each chlorine atom will be replaced by a hydroxyl group (OH).
- The reaction can be represented as:
\[ \text{CHCl}_3 + \text{KOH} \rightarrow \text{C(OH)}_3 + \text{KCl} \]
- However, this intermediate (C(OH)₃) is unstable.

4. **Formation of Formic Acid**:
- The intermediate compound (C(OH)₃) will lose a water molecule (H2O) to achieve stability.
- This leads to the formation of a carbonyl group (C=O) and a hydroxyl group (OH), resulting in the formation of formic acid (HCOOH).
- The overall reaction can be summarized as:
\[ \text{CHCl}_3 + \text{KOH} \rightarrow \text{HCOOH} + \text{KCl} + \text{H}_2\text{O} \]

5. **Final Product**:
- The final product of the hydrolysis of trichloromethane with aqueous KOH is formic acid (HCOOH).

### Conclusion:
The hydrolysis of trichloromethane with aqueous KOH gives formic acid (HCOOH).