Tertiary alcohols do not undergo oxidation reaction Under strong
reaction conditions such as strong oxidising agents (KMnO4) and
elevated temperatures, cleavage of various C-C bonds takes place
and a mixture of carboxylic
acids containing lesser number
of carbon atoms is formed When the vapours of a
primary or a secondary alcohol
are passed over heated copper
at 573 K, dehydrogenation
takes place and an aldehyde or
a ketone is formed while tertiary
alcohols undergo dehydration Biological oxidation of methanol and ethanol in the body produces the corresponding
aldehyde followed by the acid