ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - ALCOHOLS Flashcards
what is the functional group of an alcohol?
-OH hydroxyl group
what is a general formula for an alcohol
CnH2n+1OH
how do you name alcohols (prefix and suffix)?
hydroxyl. - prefix
ol - suffix
what kind of intermolecular forces do alcohols have? why?
they have hydrogen bonding due to the high difference in electronegativity between O and H and vander waals forces
how do alcohols MP and BP compare to other hydrocarbons with the same chain length?
alcohols have higher MP and BP because the hydrogen bonding requires more energy to break the bonds.
Hydrogen bonding is stronger than the London forces.
are alcohols soluble in water? is solubility affected by chain length?
shorter chain alcohols are soluble in water because the OH forms hydrogen bonds with the water molecules.
Insoluble when it is a long chain due to the non polarity of the long hydrocarbon chain which takes precedence.
what makes an alcohol primary?
when the carbon attached to the OH is attached to one other carbon atom.
what makes an alcohol secondary?
when the carbon attached to the OH is attached to two other carbon atoms.
what makes an alcohol tertiary?
when the carbon attached to the OH is attached to 3 other carbon atoms.
how can ethanol be made from crude oil?
hydration of ethene via electrophilic addition (phosphoric acid catalyst.)
what are the advantages of this method?
+ fast
+ continuous
- not renewable as made from crude oil
how can ethanol be made from fermentation?
plant carbohydrates are broken down and fermented by enyzmes in yeast = alcohols
what conditions are needed for fermentation to take place?
enzymes in yeast as catalyst
35 degrees
anaerobic conditions
write an equation for fermentation reaction?
C6H12O6 –> 2C2H5OH + 2CO2
advantages and disadvantages of fermentation method?
+ renewable as from plants
- slow batches
-slow process
- alcohol solution not pure and needs to be fractionally distilled