In this article, we will learn about the alcohol hydroxyl group, alcohol structure, phenol structure, and other structures. Among science lovers, organic chemistry has always been a huge area of study. The purpose of basic organic chemistry is to disseminate fundamental knowledge about the organic substances that surround us and to lay a strong foundation for future research into these substances and the variables that control their behavior. The homologous series, in which the succeeding compounds share the same functional groups but differ from one another by a -CH2 group, is a series of organic molecules. One of the various functional groups that can be found in organic molecules is alcohol.
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What is Alcohol?
Alcohols are organic molecules where the hydroxyl group has taken the place of a hydrogen atom or an aliphatic carbon. As a result, an alcohol molecule is made up of two portions, one of which has an alkyl group and the other of which contains a hydroxyl group. Their aroma is pleasant. They display a distinct set of chemical and physical characteristics. Alcohol’s physical and chemical characteristics are mostly caused by the presence of the hydroxyl group. The alcohol structure is influenced by a number of variables.
Alcohol Structure
The presence of the hydroxyl group is primarily responsible for the structure of alcohol. A sigma () bond connects the main chain carbon atom of alcohols to the oxygen atom of the hydroxyl group. An sp3 hybridised orbital of carbon and an sp3 hybridised orbital of oxygen overlap, resulting in the formation of this sigma bond. Alcohols’ C-O-H bonds have a bond angle that is slightly smaller than the tetrahedral angle (109°-28′) because of the attraction between the oxygen’s non-bonding electron pairs.
Phenol structure
Two factors are mostly responsible for phenol structure:
- Characteristics of partial double bonds brought on by the aromatic ring’s resonance with an oxygen atom’s conjugated electron pair.
- In phenol, the oxygen-attached carbon atom undergoes sp2 hybridization.
As a result, phenol’s C-O bond length is somewhat shorter than methanol’s.
Ether structure
- Tetrahedral structure describes an ether molecule.
- The bond angle (R-O-R) is somewhat larger than the tetrahedral angle as a result of the repulsive interaction between the two bulky (-R) groups.
- Ether has nearly identical C-O bond lengths to alcohols.
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
Q.1 What causes phenol to become pink after a while?
Phenol oxidises in the presence of air after being left out for a while and turns pink in color. Phenol is transformed during oxidation into quinone, which mixes with phenol to produce the pink substance phenoquinone.
Q.2 What is the common name of the simplest ether?
Dimethyl ether is the term given to CH3OCH3, the most basic ether.
Q.3 How do you turn alcohol into ether?
Ethers are created when primary alcohols are heated in the presence of an acid catalyst. Condensation reactions are the name for this type of reaction. In this instance, the combination of two alcohol molecules produces ether and water.
