Conclusion and Recommendations3

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS

On this this expe experi rime ment nt,, seve severa rall test testss were were used used to analyze analyze the hydrox hydroxyl yl group, group, the functi functiona onall group group found in alcohols. Alcohols were identified as primary, seco second ndar aryy or tert tertia iary ry acco accord rdin ingg to the the test testss performed. The first test conducted is the solubility test where  water is the solvent. Test compounds used were ethanol, ethanol, n-butyl alcohol, alcohol, sec-butyl -butyl alcoho alcohol,l, tert -butyl -butyl alcohol, benzyl alcohol, glycerol and phenol. It was found found that that only only ethano ethanol,l, sec-butyl -butyl alcohol, alcohol, tert -butyl -butyl alcohol and glycerol were soluble in water. This is because hydrogen bonding between these molecules and and wate waterr are are high high enou enough gh comp compar ared ed to othe otherr alcohols maing it soluble in water. Ther Theree are are also also test testss perf perfor orme medd to diff differ eren entitiat atee alcohols alcohols from phenols. These were acidity!ba acidity!basicity sicity test, sodium metal test, acetyl chloride test, "ucas test, oxidation reaction test, iodoform test, bromine  water test, and ferric chloride test. In the acidity!basicity test, it was found that phenol is more acidic than ethanol. These can also be seen  when litmus paper was tested on both compounds. The reason for this was the concept of resonance. #hen #hen phenol phenol was deprot deprotona onated ted,, it still still has stable stable con$ugate base maing it more acidic compared to ethanol. %oreover, phenol produced more resonance structures than that of ethanol. In sodium metal test, phenol was the &uicest to react follow followed ed by n-buta n-butanol nol,, sec-butan -butanol, ol, and lastly lastly tert buta butano nol.l. 'heno 'henoll is the the most most acidi acidicc out out of thes thesee compounds. The branchings of the carbon bearing the hydroxyl group affects the rate of the reaction due to ster steric ic effe effect cts, s, mai maing ng the the the the tert -butanol -butanol least reacti reactive ve and n-buta n-butanol nol most most reacti reactive ve out of these these saturated alcohol isomers. In acet acetyl yl chlo chlori ride de test test,, este esters rs are are form formed ed when when alcohols react with acetyl chloride. The presence of an ester is indicated by a formation of a layer in the soluti solution. on. (ince (ince the test test compou compounds nds reacte reacted, d, the carbon bearing the hydroxyl group is either primary or secondary.

In "ucas test, no reaction were formed when the test comp compou ound ndss reac reacte tedd with with the the "uca "ucass reag reagen ent. t. A possible reason for this was the contamination of the reagen reagentt upon upon usage. usage. Theore Theoretic ticall allyy, alcoho alcohols ls that that reacted with "ucas reagent within ) minutes can be classified as tertiary then secondary alcohols reacted  within )-*+ minutes. In oxidation test, the test compounds were oxidized usin usingg *+ *+ pota potass ssiu ium m chro chroma mate te adde addedd in dilu dilute te sulfuric sulfuric acid. Tert -butanol -butanol did not show any presence of reaction since it cannot be further oxidized. thanol  was oxidized into ethanal and isopropanol oxidized into acetone. It can be said that only primary and secondary alcohols are reactive in this test. In iodoform test, a formation of yellow precipitate was observed on the test compounds when reacted with iodine in potassium iodide and sodium hydroxide. The product product is a sodium sodium ethanoate for isopropanol isopropanol and a sodium formate for ethanol. The yellow precipitate is the iodoform. (ince they reacted, it means a methyl group can be found attached on the carbon bearing the hydroxyl group. In the bromin brominee water water test, test, phenol phenol produc produced ed white white precipitate and benzyl alcohol changed from colorless to brown. (ince the phenol reacted, it means that the aromatic ring is activated while benzyl alcohol is wea activator. The last test performed was the ferric chloride test. 'henol was reactive producing blac solution while benzyl alcohol was unreactive. This is an excellent test for differentiating alcohols from phenols. To further further assess these tests, tests, several several compounds compounds  were given and these tests were to distinguish them apart. apart. The first first set was the isomer isomeric ic five-c five-carb arbon on saturat saturated ed alcoho alcohols. ls. Tertiar ertiaryy alcoho alcohols ls will will react react in "ucas reagent within ) minutes of reaction while the other other isomer isomerss will will have have slower slower reacti reaction on time. time. The primary and secondary alcohols can be oxidized into ester ester when when reacte reactedd with with acetyl acetyl chlori chloride de test test while while tertiary alcohol will not react. 'rimary and secondary alcoho alcohols ls will will be oxidiz oxidized ed into into carbox carboxyli ylicc acid acid and etone, respectively while tertiary alcohols will have no reaction when tested with potassium dichromate.

If allyl alcohol and propanol were to be reacted with "ucas reagent, allyl alcohol will react faster than propanol because the carbocation formed on the former is resonance stabilized.

O-cresol

enzyl alcohol and cyclohexanol can be differentiated using "ucas test and sodium metal test. In "ucas test, benzylic alcohol is reactive due to its resonance stabilized carbocation. In sodium metal test, cyclohexanol will react faster than benzylic alcohol since the former is a secondary alcohol.

To differentiate benzyl alcohol from anisole, sodium metal test and acetyl chloride test can be used. Only benzyl alcohol will react with both tests while the anisole will not.

To distinguish benzyl alcohol from phenol, bromine  water test and ferric chloride test can be used. 'henol  will not decolorize but the benzyl alcohol will decolorize into brown when reacted with bromine  water. In ferric chloride test, phenol will form blac iron complex while benzyl alcohol will be unreactive. /ifferentiating cyclohexanol from *methycyclohexanol will use sodium metal, acetyl chloride, "ucas, oxidation and iodoform test. In sodium metal test, cyclohexanol will react faster than *-methylcyclohexanol because cyclohexanol is secondary alcohol. In acetyl chloride, cyclohexanol  will form a layer while *-methylcyclohexanol will not. In "ucas test, *-methylcyclohexanol will react faster than cyclohexanol. In oxidation test, chromic acid will oxidized cyclohexanol while *-methylcyclohexanol will not react because it is tertiary alcohol. "astly, in iodoform test, only *-methylcyclohexanol will form iodoform or the precipitate.

and anisole can be distinguished using sodium metal test and acetyl chloride test. Only ocresol will react with both tests while the anisole will not.

The ob$ectives of this experiment were met which  were to examine and differentiate the properties of alcohols and phenols and to visualize the characteristic reactions of alcohols and phenols. It can be recommended that the reactions must be observed for a longer period of time since the other reactions were not totally completed. It can be recommended that reactions can be performed only if the reagents used are free from any contaminations. These can be done by performing the experiment under the fumehood and avoiding exposure to air. Any reactions using contaminated reagents will induce erroneous results.