Alcohols

• Alcohol


  Formed by at least one hydroxyl group (OH) attached to a saturated hydrocarbon
• Alcohol


  Considered a derivative of water in which one hydrocarbon atom is replaced by an OH group
• Alcohol


  • Colorless, flammable liquids with blue flame
  • Most alcohols are liquid at room temp.
  • Generally, the properties of alcohol depend on the number of carbon atoms
• Classification of alcohol


  • Primary alcohol: only one R group (a.k.a alkyl group) is attached
  • Secondary alcohol: two R groups are attached
  • Tertiary alcohol: three R groups are attached
• Classification of alcohol


  • Monohydric alcohol: only one OH group is attached
  • Dihydric alcohol: two OH groups are attached
  • Trihydric/polyhydric alcohol: three or more OH groups are attached
• Reactions of Alcohol

  1. Alcohol, the reducing agent, gains oxygen as it loses hydrogen

  2. The oxidizing agent loses oxygen as it gains hydrogen

  3. Products: aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acid
• Reactions of Alcohol

  1. Alcohol, the oxidizing agent, loses oxygen as it gains hydrogen

  2. The reducing agent gains oxygen as it loses hydrogen

  3. Alcohol goes through dehydration first before proceeding to reduction

  4. H₂ is added to form alkane
• Reactions of Alcohol


  1. Alcohol loses its water molecule when reacting with any protic acid

  2. It is an example of beta elimination reaction since two functional groups were lost, H and OH

  3. H₂SO₄ is introduced to form alkene
• Pharmaceutical Importance of Alcohol

  • Preservative
  • Crystallization
  • Extraction
  • Medicine formulation
  • Antiseptic
  • Disinfectant
  • Diluent
  • Solvent
• Chemical properties of Alcohol (Acidity)

  when branching is involved:

  • primary > secondary > tertiary
• Chemical properties of Alcohol (Acidity)

  • alcohol + metal = alkoxide ion
  • acidity is inversely proportional to the number of C atoms
• Physical properties of Alcohol (BP)

  • when branching is involved:
  • primary > secondary > tertiary