Question

Oxirane is
A. Ethylene oxide
B. Diethyl ether
C. Ethyl glycolate
D. Glycolic ester

Answer 1

Hint: Oxirane is an organic compound having the chemical formula \[{{\rm{C}}_{\rm{2}}}{{\rm{H}}_{\rm{4}}}{\rm{O}}\]. It is a three-membered cyclic compound containing the ether functional group. It is also the simplest epoxide.

Complete Step by Step Solution:
Oxirane is the IUPAC name of \[{{\rm{C}}_{\rm{2}}}{{\rm{H}}_{\rm{4}}}{\rm{O}}\]. This compound is also known as ethylene oxide. This is a simple epoxide which is a three-membered ring having one oxygen atom and two carbon atoms. The atoms are bonded to each other through sigma bonds.

The structure of the compound is as comes after:

Image: Structure of oxirane.
As it is a strained ring, it readily takes part in several additional reactions which involve ring-opening.

Ethylene oxide has no colour and is an explosive gas with a slightly sweet aroma.
It is industrially yielded by oxidation of ethylene in the presence of a silver catalyst.
The reaction happens as comes next:

Image: Production of oxirane

It is utilised for producing numerous products like detergents, thickeners, solvents, plastics, and different organic chemicals like ethylene glycol, ethanolamines, polyglycol ethers, etc. Ethylene oxide is soluble in water, ethanol, diethyl ether, and many organic solvents. So, oxirane is ethylene oxide.
So, option A is correct.

Note: In epoxides, the ring atoms i.e., two carbon atoms and one oxygen atom are \[{\rm{s}}{{\rm{p}}^{\rm{3}}}\] hybridised. The two \[{\rm{s}}{{\rm{p}}^{\rm{3}}}\] hybrid bonds of oxygen are filled. The C-O-C bond angle of an epoxide must be \[{\rm{60^\circ }}\], a significant divergence from the tetrahedral bond angle. So, epoxides have an angle strain making them much more reactive than ethers as opening the ring relieves the strain.