Alcohols, Ethers, and Thiols Overview

Alcohols, Ethers, and Thiols

• Alcohols: Organic compounds containing a hydroxyl (-OH) functional group.
• Naming alcohols involves using the -ol suffix. Alcohols are classified based on the carbon atom the -OH group is attached to (primary, secondary, or tertiary).
• If the chain has other hydrocarbon or halide constituents, the lowest number is assigned to the carbon with the hydroxyl group.
• Polyalcohols: Alcohols with more than one hydroxyl group (-OH). Suffixes such as -diol (-OH) and -triol (3-OH groups) indicate the number of hydroxyl groups.

Aromatic Alcohols

• Naming follows the same rules as straight-chain alcohols, with the -ol suffix added to the root name of the cyclic hydrocarbon.
• The hydroxyl group (-OH) takes precedence over other substituents in numbering.
• If multiple bonds are present, the -OH group takes precedence.

Properties of Alcohols

• Adding hydroxyl groups increases polarity, resulting in higher boiling and melting points, as well as increased solubility in polar solvents.
• The longer the hydrocarbon chain, the less soluble the alcohol is in water.
• Alcohols can dissolve both polar and nonpolar substances.

Preparation of Alcohols

• Alcohols can be prepared by hydration (addition) of alkenes, which involves adding water to an alkene.

Reactions of Alcohols

• Combustion: Alcohols react with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water.
• Elimination (dehydration): The reverse of addition reactions, resulting in an alkene and water. This requires a catalyst and heat.

Ethers

• Ethers are organic compounds with an oxygen atom between two carbon atoms in a chain.
• Naming ethers involves adding -oxy to the prefix of the smaller alkyl group. If both alkyl groups are the same size, the prefix "di-" is used.
• Ethers are miscible with both polar and nonpolar substances, making them suitable solvents.
• Ethers have lower boiling points than similar-sized alcohols because they cannot form hydrogen bonds.

Thiols

• Thiols are organic compounds containing a sulfhydryl (-SH) functional group.
• Thiols have a distinct, often strong, odor (e.g., garlicky or skunk-like).
• Naming follows the pattern of adding -thiol to the end of the alkane name.

Explore the fundamentals of alcohols, ethers, and thiols in this quiz. Learn about the functional group properties, naming conventions, and classifications of alcohols, including primary, secondary, and tertiary structures. Test your knowledge on the properties and characteristics that define these important organic compounds.