Alcohols and Ethers
Organic Reactions of Alcohols and
Ethers
By: Jai Bansal and Dennis Ngo
Types of Reactions
• Alcohols form through a reaction between an alkene
group and a water molecule in a process called
hydration. Markovnikov’s rule applies here.
• Alcohols decompose to form an alkene group and a
water molecule in a process called dehydration.
• Alcohols combust completely like any other hydrocarbon
to form carbon dioxide and water.
• Ethers are formed by combining two alcohols in a
process called condensation reaction.
Hydration Reaction
• Reaction between an alkene and water
with an acid as a catalyst
Recall: To name an alcohol, you change the ending of the parent chain to
“-ol”. If the OH happens to be a functional group, it is called a “hydroxy”.
Dehydration Reaction
• A reaction that results in the removal of water
• When an alcohol loses a water molecule and
reverts back into an alkene, the opposite of a
hydration reaction
• Catalyzed by concentrated sulphuric acid
Condensation Reaction
• A reaction in which two molecules combine to form a
larger product, with the elimination of a small
molecule such as water or an alcohol
• In the creation of an ether the reaction is between
two alcohols creating two alkyl groups that are
attached by an oxygen and water as a product
Recall: The shorter of the two chains gets the “-oxy” ending, followed by
the IUPAC name of the longer chain.
Practical or Industrial Uses
• Alcohol usages:
• Ethanol is commonly consumed as a beverage (wine, beer, etc.)
• 2-propanol is more commonly known as rubbing alcohol; it is also
used in the manufacturing of oils, gums and acetone.
• Ethanol is used as a solvent in lacquers, varnishes, perfumes and
flavourings.
• Ether usages:
• Ethoxyethane was used as an anaesthetic...like in the movies. Now
it is used as a solvent for fats and oils.
• Ethers readily mix with polar and non-polar substances making them
good solvents for organic reactions.
Environmental Impact
• Combustion of alcohols and ethers produce
products that are harmful to our atmosphere
• However the usage of ethanol as a bio fuel
produces much less pollution then gasoline
• Large quantities of alcohols and ethers have to
be stored carefully because they can be toxic to
humans and animals and they can also explode
in large quantities
Summary of Reactions
POP QUIZ!
Condensation
Dehydration
Hydration
True or false: ethoxyethan is currently
used as anaesthetics.
Answer: False, they were once used as
anaesthetics, but now there are better
anaesthetics so ethoxyethane is used for
other purposes.
What alcohol is commonly
consumed as a beverage?
Answer: Ethanol