1. Alcohol's Properties
John Zhou

2. Properties
Toxicity
Agenda

3. Properties
Alcohol is a general term denoting a family of organic chemicals with common properties. Members of this family include ethanol, methanol, isopropanol and others.

4. Physical Properties
Most of the common alcohols are colourless liquids at room temperature.
The hydroxyl group generally makes the alcohol molecule polar and soluble in water, while the non-polar hydrocarbon chain tends to make alcohols insoluble.

5. Hydrogen Bonding & Solubility
Hydrogen bonding raises the boiling point of alcohols. This is due to the combined strength of so many hydrogen bonds forming between oxygen atoms of one alcohol molecule and the hydroxy H atoms of another. The longer the carbon chain in an alcohol
is, the lower the solubility
in polar solvents and
the higher the solubility in
nonpolar solvents.

6. Practice
Arrange according to increasing boiling point. (start with lowest boiling point)
1. CH4, CH3OH, CH3CH3
Arrange according to increasing solubility (start with lowest solubility)
2. CH4, CH3CH2Cl, CH3CH2OH
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7. Solutions
1. CH4, CH3CH3, CH3OH
5. CH3CH2Cl, CH4, CH3CH2OH
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8. Solubility
The small alcohols are completely soluble in water. However, solubility falls as the length of the hydrocarbon chain in the alcohol increases.
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9. Solubility
The -OH end of the alcohol molecules can form new hydrogen bonds with water molecules, but the hydrocarbon “tail” doesn‘t form hydrogen bonds.
So quite a lot of the original hydrogen bonds being broken are replaced by London force.
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10. Chemical Properties Deprotonation
Alcohols can behave as weak acids, undergoing deprotonation.
2 R-OH + 2 NaH → 2 R-O-Na+ + H2↑
2 R-OH + 2Na → 2R-O−Na+
e.g. 2 CH3CH2-OH + 2 Na → 2 CH3-CH2-O−Na+
back
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11. Toxicity
All alcohols are poisonous. Ethanol is no exception. While infrequent consumption of ethanol in small quantities may be harmless or even beneficial, larger does result in a state known as drunkenness, and even can cause severe health problems, such as liver and brain damage.
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12. Go For some practice!
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