Questions tagged [alcohols]
For questions about saturated and unsaturated alcohols, their physical properties, their reactions, etc. For questions about phenol, use the [phenols] tag instead.
426
questions
-4
votes
0answers
23 views
Direct addition (1,2) or conjugate addition (1,4)? [closed]
Problem: Reaction of alpha - beta unsaturated carboxylic acid derivatives with alcohol.
I came to know that acid chloride gives direct addition
Whereas amides,esters give conjugate addition
However I ...
-1
votes
1answer
28 views
What does the alcohol functional group (specifically oxygen) have to do that causes an alcohol to have a lower energy content than an alkane? [closed]
My textbook said that the carbon is "partially oxidised" (don't really know what that means) and I just wanted to confirm.
0
votes
1answer
59 views
Why HCl is used in Lucas test?
In Lucas test $\ce{HCl}$ is used for acid-base reaction between $\ce{Zn(OH)Cl}$ to give $\ce{ZnCl2}$ and $\ce{H2O}$ which is kind of good because $\ce{ZnCl2}$ is formed again and used in first step ...
1
vote
0answers
30 views
Reaction of multiple diols with sulphuric acid [closed]
Find the total number of possible products
I can think of atleast three reactions that will take place in the acidic medium:
Pinacol-Pinacolone rearrangement
Intermolecular dehydration (leading to ...
1
vote
1answer
66 views
Why does H+ attack alkene first in this reaction?
The reaction is:
Why is the double bond attacked here even though it is in conjugation with the lone pairs of O thereby making it harder to extract. Also,don't the 2 lone pairs on OH have more ...
2
votes
0answers
25 views
Grignard alkoxide intermediate as starting material for ether or ester synthesis
I'm having a Grignard reaction between a ketone or aldehyde with RMgX in mind.
The average workup uses water to hydrolize the intermediate alkoxide. But could this intermediate be used without ...
1
vote
1answer
59 views
Conversion of methylcyclopentanol to cyclopentanone
How to convert methylcyclopentanol to cyclopentanone?
I tried eliminating the alcohol group as $\ce{H2O},$ but that gives Saytzeff product. If only I can get the Hofmann product (methylene ...
5
votes
1answer
80 views
Why isn't PBr3 used to halogenate tertiary alcohols?
I've been looking into activation of alcohols for nucleophilic substitution, and I've come across a series of reactions that differentiate between primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols. I've seen ...
-2
votes
1answer
45 views
Comparing between cleavage of ethers
We have to find out which ether would undergo cleavage faster.
My Attempt
IV. I couldn't figure out, so i carried out simple SN1 cleavage. Since +M effect of OH > OCH3 1st reactant seemed right ...
0
votes
0answers
20 views
Under what conditions can epoxide undergo oxidation by HIO4
Question
Doubt
Can epoxide react with HIO4. I have seen that in same cases they do. But in this given question they don't. If they do react , then how and what will be the products?Please help
0
votes
0answers
19 views
Problem detection in reaction procedure
We all know that oxidation of secondary alcohols leads to ketones. So, with that logic, in order to form acetone $CH_3-CO-CH_3$ through oxidation, we need a secondary alcohol like isopropyl alcohol. ...
0
votes
1answer
26 views
Benzylation and acetylation of amines and alcohols
Question
Attempt
Since the nitrogen site is more nucleophilic it should react first. But still Oxygen can react and hence I believe A should be right. But the book says C. Where did I go wrong? ...
0
votes
1answer
71 views
2-Methylpropan-2-ol and Iodoform test
Can 2-methylpropan-2-ol be converted into methyl ketone the action of $\ce{I2}$ in the presence of alkali base and thus give iodoform test?
Answer given to this question is that it can't give ...
0
votes
1answer
42 views
Rubbing alcohol gets warm after diluting with water
I've just diluted a 95% rubbing alcohol bottle with water to bring it down to 70%. However, the bottle got noticeably warmer after I did so. I've searched online and I couldn't find any exothermic ...
-2
votes
1answer
772 views
What type of plastic (PET, HDPE etc.) is appropriate to store alcohol based hand sanitizer? [closed]
I’ve been tasked with distributing hand sanitizer to public safety staff from a bulk supply in gallon jugs. I need a portable squeeze bottle, but I’m having trouble determining what type of plastic (...
1
vote
2answers
116 views
How many hydrogen bonds can methanol make?
I believe that it can form 2 hydrogen bonds, one with oxygen and the other with hydrogen but a classmate said that oxygen can form 2 hydrogen bonds? Is this true? I can't find anything on google to ...
0
votes
0answers
45 views
Is there an exothermic reaction when washing hands with water and hand sanitiser?
I accidentally washed my hands with water (cold/lukewarm) and hand sanitiser alcohol (room temperature) instead of soap. I felt like my hands have gotten warmer when I applied it.
Only using alcohol ...
5
votes
1answer
49 views
Disubstituted cyclic alcohols - looking for IUPAC rule
Given a simple cyclic alcohol:
We can name it cyclopentanol and using cyclopentan-1-ol wouldn't be correct. When more than one ...
6
votes
1answer
170 views
Why does a proton prefer to attack a double bond instead of protonating an alcohol in a reaction of unsaturated alcohol with sulphuric acid?
A solved problem in Organic Chemistry by Solomons, Fryhle and Snyder asked to write the mechanism for the following transformation in the presence of sulphuric acid ($\ce{H2SO4}$):
The mechanism ...
1
vote
0answers
45 views
Adding an essential oil to WHO Handrub Formulation [closed]
I'm not a chemist, so I prefer to ask this question to some people, who definitely have knowledge in that area.
WHO Handrub Formulation is available here.
Ingridients: Ethanol 96%, Hydrogen peroxide ...
14
votes
3answers
5k views
When I burn isopropyl alcohol (IPA), it burns orange. But when I burn ethyl alcohol, it burns totally blue. Why is this?
I burned them in a small aluminium tray. While IPA is burning orange, it produced the smell of soot, but while ethanol is burning blue there isn't any smell.
Also, ethanol made the tray really cold ...
0
votes
1answer
46 views
Cause of m/z = 56 peak in 4-methyl-1-pentanol
This is the mass spectrum for 4-methylpentan-1-ol:
From its structural formula, what could be the fragmentation which results in a peak at $m/z = 56?$
I was considering a few possibilities; could it ...
0
votes
1answer
50 views
What is the true caloric impact of Alcohol?
I've only had 1 year of basic Chemistry at school, so I am waay too uneducated to answer this question myself:
What is the true caloric impact of ingested alcohol (ethanol) in the human body?
Here ...
-4
votes
1answer
58 views
Disinfectant production [closed]
One of my friends says that he made a disinfectant. These are the materials:
83% methanol
isopropyl alcohol
propylene glycol
and the others are: citral, geraniol, linalool, dlimonene, l alpha ...
2
votes
1answer
52 views
Which mechanism should a reaction between the cyclopentylmethanol and the HBr should follow?
I just thought that the reaction should follow $\mathrm{S_{N}2}$ mechanism this is because the alkyl halide is primary but the book says that the reaction will follow $\mathrm{S_{N}1}$ mechanism ...
1
vote
0answers
114 views
Solubility of alcohols in non-polar solvents
The solubility of an alcohol in a non-polar solvent (like hexane) increases with size of the alcohol, as the non-polar chain increases. However, as the chain keeps increasing, will the solubility ...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
Concentrating mixtures of volatile compounds
My interest is primarily food-related here but I think this is a fairly general chemistry question. Let's say I took some liquid like lemon juice and ran it though a rotary evaporator to get just the ...
0
votes
2answers
292 views
How (in)flammable is “isopropyl alcohol” really? [closed]
I have an electric device which frequently gets very oily (it's a vaporizer for herbs). It came with a few individually packaged small "tissues" drenched in "isopropyl alcohol". I've used up them all ...
4
votes
2answers
234 views
False positive in lucas test for primary alcohol due to formation of tertiary carbocation by rearrangement?
From Wikipedia:
The Lucas test in alcohols is a test to differentiate between primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols. It is based on the differences in reactivity of the three classes of alcohols ...
1
vote
0answers
19 views
Is dialkyldimethylammonium chloride suitable for sterilization in mycology? [closed]
In hobby-mycology 70% rubbing alcohol is commonly used for sterilizing work surfaces, bags, syringes, still air boxes, basically everything.
Alcohol however, seems to have some downsides, when it ...
1
vote
1answer
28 views
Measure ethanol volume fraction in a beverage [closed]
Given a sample of an alcoholic beverage (be it beer, wine, etc..), what are possible methods to find out the ABV (alcohol by volume) of it with moderate accuracy?
As fas as I know, some methods exist ...
0
votes
0answers
31 views
Transposition in vicinal diols dehydration
In this reaction, I don't know how I could place a methyl in the benzyl carbon. My first idea was to treat the compound with OsO4/H2O2 to form the vicinal diol, and then dehydrate in acidic medium and ...
-1
votes
1answer
115 views
Which has a greater dipole moment: methylamine or methanol? [closed]
Which has a greater dipole moment: methylamine $(\ce{CH3NH2})$ or methanol $(\ce{CH3OH})?$
3
votes
1answer
293 views
Mass Spectra: 1-pentanol vs 3-pentanol
In mass spectrometry, 1-pentanol can be observed to have no peak at $m/z = 59$, whilst 3-pentanol can be observed to have a peak at $m/z = 59$.
Clearly the 3-pentanol peak at $m/z = 59$ is due to the ...
-1
votes
1answer
103 views
Mechanism of the reaction of cyclohexanol and concentrated nitric acid to form adipic acid [closed]
If someone could please give me the hint to how the initial attack is carried out, it'd be a huge help.
3
votes
1answer
229 views
Is Pinacol rearrangement the source for the ring expansion?
I have no idea what's happening as in the product (the answer is (a)) there is a new ring being formed on the left benzene. But as I studied after $\ce{H2O}$ leaves, a carbocation is then formed on ...
4
votes
1answer
75 views
Reduction of an Allylic Enoate to afford allylic alcohol in presence of Benzyl Acetal Groups
I have a question that requires finding a reagent for the reduction of an enoate to the corresponding allylic alcohol. Preferably done in one step too with an acid workup at the end too.
What types ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Taking volume contraction into account when mixing water with ethanol
To calculate the amount of purified water and the amount of ethanol (96% Vol.) which is needed for a desired/variable amount of a mixture - given a desired/variable percentage of ethanol - I use the ...
1
vote
0answers
25 views
Does myristyl glucoside contain alcohol? [closed]
I read that "myristyl glucoside is a product obtained by the condensation of myristyl alcohol with aglucose polymer." Does that mean that alcohol is part of the final product/myristyl glucoside itself?...
0
votes
0answers
68 views
What exactly is an 'activated' alcohol? Benzylic vs. Allylic vs. Aliphatic
I'm currently writing a report about the oxidations of various alcohols using different catalytic systems. In all papers it is stated that benzylic and allylic alcohols are "activated", while ...
1
vote
0answers
51 views
Rate determining step in oxidation of alcohols using chromium-related compounds
I wanted to ask a question about the kinetics of an oxidation reaction using chromium reagents.
I was given a lecture today on the mechanism of alcohol oxidations using Chromate (VI) reagents:
My ...
0
votes
1answer
158 views
What does ethylene glycol decompose to when exposed to air for an extended period of time?
I came across this article on wikipedia on ethylene glycol stating that it decomposes fairly quickly. I was under the impression that ethylene glycol was dangerous to let leach into soil, but I think ...
0
votes
1answer
202 views
What should be the name of the given compound?
Following compound is named as
(1) 6-Mercaptocyclohex-4-ene-1,3-diol
(2) 1-Mercaptocyclohex-2-ene-4,6-diol
(3) 1-Mercaptocyclohex-5-ene-2,4-diol
(4) 4-Mercaptocyclohex-2-ene-1,5-diol
As per my ...
1
vote
0answers
69 views
Is the reaction of anhydrous aluminium(III) chloride and anhydrous ethanol reversible?
I'm planning an experiment that I'll do in silico in the near future, and one of the steps involves the extraction of the $\ce{AlCl3 · C2H5OH}$ adduct without any water in it.
Can the ethanol be ...
-1
votes
1answer
169 views
Do secondary alcohols react faster than primary alcohols or is it the other around? [closed]
My questions is that do secondary alcohols react faster than primary alcohols or is it the other around? This for the oxidation of the alcohol to a ketone or an aldehyde.
This reaction is with KMnO4 ...
1
vote
2answers
218 views
Alkene reaction with acid via SN1 reaction
I want to ask a question about alkenes and their reactivity with acids.
From high school studies, I recall that if you had an acid $\ce{H3O+}$ i.e. $H^+$ that it would react with an alkene as shown ...
0
votes
0answers
98 views
Nucleophilic Substitution Reaction of Alcohol
What is the final product?
According to me, it's option (3). But given answer in the booklet is (2).
Given primary alcohol undergoes SN2 reaction to produce isopentyl bromide and the latter again ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
Ingredients for cleaning optical elements
I have recently purchased a cleaning solution for precision optics which has the following ingredients (amounts were not specified):
Ethyl Alcohol
Methylethylketon
Aqua
Diethyl Ether
Isopropyl
...
1
vote
0answers
351 views
When alcohol is used to sterilize, what about it changes that it can't be re-used? [closed]
I read online that when you use regular household rubbing alcohol to soak something for sterilization purposes, you're then supposed to toss it out. I'm just curious why.
Like, as long as there's a ...
0
votes
1answer
143 views
Which reaction occurs first when 5-hexen-1-ol reacts with sulfuric acid?
I am trying to solve this question:
Find the major product of the following reaction:
Now we could either do electrophilic addition on the alkene or do dehydration of alcohol. These two different ...
