WM1 Flashcards
Why can ethanol mix with water but hexanol can’t?
As the hydrocarbon chain gets longer the importance of the OH group gets smaller so hexanol can’t mix with water
What does volatile mean?
A substance that can be evaporated easily
What are the conditions needed for a dehydration of an alcohol?
A catalyst (Al2O3) alumina and 300 degrees celsius OR by adding concentrated sulfuric acid under reflux
What is dehydration?
The removal of a water molecule from one of the reactants using aluminium oxide
What is nucleophilic substitution?
The production of haloalkanes in the presence of a strong acid
What are the two ways of converting alcohols into esters?
Esterification and using an acid anhydride
What is esterification?
The reaction of an alcohol with a carboxylic acid
Why are acid anhydrides better than esterification?
They have a higher ester yield because it doesn’t produce water, only the ester itself with the acid.
If an alcohol can react under reflux what would be the colour change observed?
Orange to green
What is used to oxidise an alcohol?
K2Cr2O7
Potassium dichromate
What is a product as a result of the oxidation of an alcohol using potassium dichromate?
An aldehyde or Ketone or a carboxylic acid
What happens to the solubility as you the chain increases for an alcohol?
It decreases after the first 4
When a primary alcohol is oxidised, when would an aldehyde be produced and when would a carboxylic acid be produced?
When there is no reflux and the alcohol is in excess it forms an aldehyde
When there us a reflux and the agent is in excess a carboxylic acid is produced
What is the trend between longer chain alcohols and solubility?
After the first 3, the solubility decreases
