Reactions of alcohols
chemrevise.org 1 Reactions of alcohols N Goalby Chemrevise.org Solubility of alcohols in water ? The smaller alcohols (up to 3 carbons) are soluble in water. The longer the hydrocarbon chain the less soluble the alcohol ? The hydrocarbon part of the chain cannot hydrogen bond with water molecules whereas the OH part can form hydrogen bonds with water. As the hydrocarbon chain becomes longer the OH group is blocked from forming hydrogen bonds with water and the alcohol is no longer soluble. chemrevise.org 2 Different types of alcohols Propan-1-ol Primary C O H H H C H H C H H H C H H C H C H H H O H H Primary alcohols are alcohols where 1 carbon is attached to the carbon adjoining the oxygen Secondary alcohols are alcohols where 2