1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Allyl Alcohol
ALLYL ALCOHOL, C3H5OH or CH2:CH·CH2OH, a compound which occurs in very small quantities in wood spirit. It may be prepared from allyl iodide by the action of moist silver oxide; by the reduction of acrolein; or by heating glycerin with oxalic acid and a little ammonium chloride to 260° C. In this last reaction glycerol monoformin is produced as an intermediate product, but is decomposed as the temperature rises:—
C3H5(OH)3＋H2C2O4＝C3H5(OH)2·O·CHO＋CO2＋H2O
glycerol monoformin
C3H5(OH)3·O·CHO＝C3H5OH＋CO2＋H2O
It is a colourless mobile liquid of pungent smell, boiling at 97° C. Being an unsaturated compound it combines readily with the halogens. Oxidation by strong oxidizing agents converts it successively into its aldehyde, acrolein, and into acrylic acid. By gentle oxidation with potassium permanganate it may be converted into glycerin.