From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In organic chemistry, phenols, sometimes called phenolics, are a class of chemical compounds consisting of a hydroxyl group (-O H) attached to an aromatic hydrocarbon group. The simplest of the class is phenol (C₆H₅OH).

Although similar to alcohols, phenols have unique properties and are not classified as alcohols (since the hydroxyl group is not bonded to a saturated carbon atom). They have relatively higher acidities due to the aromatic ring's tight coupling with the oxygen and a relatively loose bond between the oxygen and hydrogen. The acidity of the hydroxyl group in phenols is commonly intermediate between that of aliphatic alcohols and carboxylic acids (their pK_a is usually between 10 and 12). Loss of a positive hydrogen ion (H⁺) from the hydroxyl group of a phenol forms a negative phenolate ion.

Some phenols are germicidal and are used in formulating disinfectants. Others possess estrogenic or endocrine disrupting activity.

[edit] Synthesis of phenols

Several laboratory methods for the synthesis of phenols:

• by an ester rearrangement in the Fries rearrangement
• by a rearrangement of N-phenylhydroxylamines in the Bamberger rearrangement
• by hydrolysis of phenolic esters or ethers
• by reduction of quinones
• by replacement of an aromatic amine by an hydroxyl group with water and sodium bisulfide in the Bucherer reaction
• by hydrolysis of diazonium salts
• by oligomerisation with formaldehyde + base catalysed reaction with epichlorohydrine to epoxi resin components
• by reaction with acetone/ketones to e.g. Bisphenol A, an important monomer for resins, e.g. polycarbonate(PC), epoxi resins
• by a rearrangement reaction of dienones ^[1] in the dienone phenol rearrangement ^[2]:

[edit] Reactions of phenols

Phenols react in a wide variety of ways.

• Esterfication reactions and ether formation
• Electrophilic aromatic substitutions as the hydroxyl group is activating, for example synthesis of calixarenes ^[3]
• Reaction of naphtols and hydrazines and sodium bisulfite in the Bucherer carbazole synthesis
• Oxidative cleavage, for instance cleavage of 1,2-dihydroxybenzene to the monomethylester of 2,4 hexadienedioic acid with oxygen, copper chloride in pyridine ^[4]
• Oxidative de-aromatization to quinones also known as the Teuber reaction. Oxidizing reagents are Fremy's salt ^[5] and oxone ^[6]. In reaction depicted below 3,4,5-trimethylphenol reacts with singlet oxygen generated from oxone/sodium carbonate in an acetonitrile/water mixture to a para-peroxyquinole. This hydroperoxide is reduced to the quinole with sodium thiosulfate.

• Phenols are oxidized to phediols in the Elbs persulfate oxidation
• Phenolate anions (deriving from phenols by the loss of H⁺) can act as ligands towards metal cations

[edit] Phenolic compounds

For a full list, see Category:Phenols

[edit] Adverse health effects of some phenols

Some of the above substances are related to endocrine-disruptive chemicals. [GreenPeace report on Hazardous Chemicals in Consumer Products]

[edit] Medicinals

[edit] Natural occurrence

Phenols are found in the natural world, especially in the plant kingdom. In some cases phenols are present in vegetative foliage to discourage herbivory, such as in the case of Western poison oak.^[7]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

1. ^ related to quinones, see for example the Zincke-Suhl reaction
2. ^ Advanced organic Chemistry, Reactions, mechanisms and structure 3ed. page Jerry March ISBN 0-471-85472-7
3. ^ p-tert-butylcalix[8]arene, Organic Syntheses, CV 8, 80 Article
4. ^ 2,4-Hexadienedioic acid, monomethyl ester, (Z,Z)- Organic Syntheses, Coll. Vol. 8, p.490 (1993); Vol. 66, p.180 (1988) Article
5. ^ 2,5-Cyclohexadiene-1,4-dione, 2,3,5-trimethyl Organic Syntheses, Coll. Vol. 6, p.1010 (1988); Vol. 52, p.83 (1972) Abstract.
6. ^ Oxidative De-aromatization of para-Alkyl Phenols into para-Peroxyquinols and para-Quinols Mediated by Oxone as a Source of Singlet Oxygen M. Carmen Carreño, Marcos González-López, Antonio Urbano Angewandte Chemie International Edition Volume 45, Issue 17 , Pages 2737 - 2741 2006 Abstract
7. ^ C.Michael Hogan (2008) Western poison-oak: Toxicodendron diversilobum, GlobalTwitcher, ed. Nicklas Stromberg [1]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Functional group of an alcohol molecule. The carbon atom is bound to hydrogen atoms and may bind to other carbon atom(s) to form a carbon chain. Methanol, an alcohol with a single carbon atom, is pictured. Ethanol, which is drinking alcohol, has two carbon atoms.

In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group (-OH) is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. The general formula for a simple acyclic alcohol is C_nH_2n+1OH. In common terms, the word alcohol refers to ethanol, the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages.

The word alcohol was introduced into the English language circa 1543 from the Arabic: الغول‎, "al-ġuḥl".

Ethanol is a colorless, volatile liquid with a mild odor which can be obtained by the fermentation of sugars. (Industrially, it is more commonly obtained by ethylene hydration—the reaction of ethylene with water in the presence of phosphoric acid.^[1]) Ethanol is the most widely used depressant in the world, and has been for thousands of years. This sense underlies the term alcoholism (addiction to alcohol).

Other alcohols are usually described with a clarifying adjective, as in isopropyl alcohol (propan-2-ol) or wood alcohol (methyl alcohol, or methanol). The suffix -ol appears in the "official" IUPAC chemical name of all alcohols.

There are three major subsets of alcohols: primary (1°), secondary (2°) and tertiary (3°), based upon the number of carbon atoms the C-OH group's carbon (shown in red) is bonded to. Ethanol is a simple 'primary' alcohol. The simplest secondary alcohol is isopropyl alcohol (propan-2-ol), and a simple tertiary alcohol is tert-butyl alcohol (2-methylpropan-2-ol).

Simple alcohols

The simplest and most commonly used alcohols are methanol and ethanol. Methanol was formerly obtained by the distillation of wood and called "wood alcohol." It is now a cheap commodity, the chemical product of carbon monoxide reacting with hydrogen under high pressure.^{[citation needed]} Methanol is intoxicating but not directly poisonous. It is toxic by its breakdown (toxication) by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase in the liver by forming formic acid and formaldehyde which cause permanent blindness by destruction of the optic nerve.^[2]

Apart from its familiar role in alcoholic beverages, ethanol is also used as a highly controlled industrial solvent and raw material. To avoid the high taxes on ethanol for consumption, additives are added to make it unpalatable (such as denatonium benzoate—"Bitrex") or poisonous (such as methanol). Ethanol in this form is known generally as denatured alcohol; when methanol is used, it may be referred to as methylated spirits ("Meths") or "surgical spirits".

Two other alcohols whose uses are relatively widespread (though not so much as those of methanol and ethanol) are propanol and butanol. Like ethanol, they can be produced by fermentation processes. (However, the fermenting agent is a bacterium, Clostridium acetobutylicum, that feeds on cellulose, not sugars like the Saccharomyces yeast that produces ethanol.)

Nomenclature

Systematic names

In the IUPAC system, the name of the alkane chain loses the terminal "e" and adds "ol", e.g. "methanol" and "ethanol".^[3] When necessary, the position of the hydroxyl group is indicated by a number between the alkane name and the "ol": propan-1-ol for CH₃CH₂CH₂OH, propan-2-ol for CH₃CH(OH)CH₃. Sometimes, the position number is written before the IUPAC name: 1-propanol and 2-propanol. If a higher priority group is present (such as an aldehyde, ketone or carboxylic acid), then it is necessary to use the prefix "hydroxy",^[3] for example: 1-hydroxy-2-propanone (CH₃COCH₂OH).

Some examples of simple alcohols and how to name them:

Examples of alcohols & their names

Common names for alcohols usually takes name of the corresponding alkyl group and add the word "alcohol", e.g. methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol or tert-butyl alcohol. Propyl alcohol may be n-propyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol depending on whether the hydroxyl group is bonded to the 1st or 2nd carbon on the propane chain. Isopropyl alcohol is also occasionally called sec-propyl alcohol.

As mentioned above alcohols are classified as primary (1°), secondary (2°) or tertiary (3°), and common names often indicate this in the alkyl group prefix. For example (CH₃)₃COH is a tertiary alcohol is commonly known as tert-butyl alcohol. This would be named 2-methylpropan-2-ol under IUPAC rules, indicating a propane chain with methyl and hydroxyl groups both attached to the middle (#2) carbon.

Primary alcohol (1°)- Have general formulas RCH₂OH Secondary alcohol (2°)- Have general formulas RR'CHOH Tertiary alcohol (3°)- Have general formulas RR'RCOH Hydrogen bond strength order: 1°>2°>3° Boiling point order: 1°>2°>3° Acidity order: 1°>2°>3°

Etymology

Look up alcohol in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The word alcohol appears in English in the 16th century, loaned via French from medical Latin, ultimately from the Arabic الغول (al-ġuḥl, "the spirit"; compare with "spirits") or الكحل (al-kuḥl, "the kohl, a powder used as an eyeliner").

The Classical Arabic term is الغول al-ġawl, but the Latin transcription may have been