Alcohol Basicity

Like water, alcohols are weak acids and bases. This is attributed to the polarization of the O–H bond making the hydrogen partially positive. Moreover, the electron pairs on the oxygen atom of alcohol make it both basic and nucleophilic. Protonation of an alcohol converts hydroxide, a poor leaving group, into water—a good one. The two acid–base equilibria corresponding to ethanol are depicted below. Figure 1. Loss of proton Figure 2. Gain of proton Methanol (pKa = 15.5) is the only alcohol...

Source: Lara Al Hariri and Ahmed Basabrain at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA, USA Ferric Chloride Test for PhenolsExpand In this lab, you will identify an unknown alcohol using the ferric chloride test, the Jones test, and the Lucas test. You'll test known alcohols alongside the unknown alcohol as examples of positive and negative results for each test. The four known alcohols are 1-butanol, a primary alcohol, 2-butanol, a secondary alcohol, 2-methyl-2-propanol, a tertiary...

Alcohols Alcohols are organic compounds that are amongst the most recognizable and familiar, as they have wide-ranging applications and uses in everyday life. Alcohols are organic molecules containing a hydroxyl functional group connected to an alkyl or aryl group (ROH). If the hydroxyl carbon only has a single R group, it is known as primary alcohol. If it has two R groups, it is a secondary alcohol, and if it has three R groups, it is a tertiary alcohol. Like many other organic compounds,...

Source: Lara Al Hariri at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA, USA Preparation of ReagentsExpand Here, we show the laboratory preparation for 10 students working in pairs, with some excess. Please adjust quantities as needed. Before you begin, put on a lab coat, safety glasses, and nitrile gloves, and set up a waste container for aqueous chromium, iron, and zinc waste. Note: Work in a fume hood because the reagents are acidic, toxic, and corrosive. The reagents undergo...

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