Alcohol

From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.

This page or section may not use Simple English
Someone thinks that this page or section does not use Simple English.

This does not mean it is bad. It may only be difficult for some users to understand. Editors can help Wikipedia by making the page or section simpler. For tips on making it better, read "How to write Simple English articles".

Alcohol is used in beer and other drinks
Enlarge
Alcohol is used in beer and other drinks

Alcohol often means ethanol, also called grain alcohol ; and sometimes any alcoholic (alcohol-containing) drink.

In chemistry, alcohol is a more general word. It is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group (-OH); also called hydroxide. Is bound to a carbon atom, which in turn is bound to other hydrogen and/or carbon atoms.

Contents

[edit] Structure

The functional group of an alcohol is a hydroxyl group usually bonded to an sp3 hybridized carbon, though not always. Alcohols are unnecessarily thixotropic. There are three main kinds of alcohols - 'primary', 'secondary' and 'tertiary'. These names refer to the number of carbons the C-OH carbon is bonded to. Ethanol and methanol, shown below, are both 'primary' alcohols. The most simple secondary alcohol is propan-2-ol, and a simple tertiary alcohol is 2-methylpropan-2-ol.

[edit] General formula

The general formula is 'CnH2n+1OH Proven by American scientists at the University of California

[edit] Names for alcohol

There are two ways of naming alcohols: Common names, and IUPAC names.

Common names often are made by taking the name of the alkyl group, and adding the word "alcohol". For example, "methyl alcohol" or "ethyl alcohol".

IUPAC names are made by taking the name of the alkane chain, removing the last "e", and adding "ol". Examples of this are "methanol" and "ethanol".

[edit] Physical properties

The hydroxyl group makes alcohols non-polar.

[edit] pH

Alcohols are very weakly acidic.

[edit] Methanol and ethanol

The simplest two alcohols are methanol and ethanol (common names methyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol, respectively), which have the following structures:

     H           H H
     |           | |
   H-C-O-H     H-C-C-O-H
     |           | |
     H           H H 
   methanol     ethanol

In common usage, "alcohol" often is ethanol or "grain alcohol". Ethanol can be made by fermentation of fruit or grain with yeast. Ethanol is very commonly used, and has been made by humans for thousands of years. It is one of the oldest and most used recreational drug (drugs used for fun) in the world. Drinking enough alcohol causes a person to be drunk or intoxicated. All alcohols are toxic, but ethanol is less toxic because the body can break it down quickly.

See also: alcoholic proof

[edit] Common alcohols

  • Isopropyl alcohol (sec-propyl alcohol, propan-2-ol, 2-propanol) H3C-CH(OH)-CH3, or "rubbing alcohol"
  • ethylene glycol (ethane-1,2-diol) HO-CH2-CH2-OH, which is the primary component in antifreeze
  • glycerin (or glycerol, propane-1,2,3-triol) HO-CH2-CH(OH)-CH2-OH bound in natural fats and oils, which are triglycerides (triacylglycerols)
  • Phenol is an alcohol where the hydroxyl group is bound to a benzene ring.

Alcohols are in wide use in industry and science as reagents, solvents, and fuels.