Structure and Bonding
Ethers are organic compounds with an ether functional group which is characterized by an oxygen atom connected to two — identical or different — alkyl, aryl, or vinyl groups. The C–O–C linkage in dimethyl ether — the simplest ether — has an approximately tetrahedral bond angle of 110.3 degrees. The oxygen atom is sp3- hybridized, with the C–O distance being about 140 pm.
Classification of Ethers
Based on their attached substituent groups, ethers can be classified into two...

Overview
An ether molecule has a net dipole moment due to the polarity of C–O bonds. Subsequently, boiling points of ethers are lower than those of alcohols of comparable molecular weight and slightly higher than those of hydrocarbons of comparable molecular weight (Table 1).
Ethers can act as hydrogen bond acceptors, making them more water-soluble than hydrocarbons, but since ethers cannot act as hydrogen bond donors, they are much less soluble in water than alcohols. Ethers are considered...

Overview
Ethers can be prepared from organic compounds by various methods. Some of them are discussed below,
Preparation of Ethers by Alcohol Dehydration
In this method, in the presence of protic acids, alcohol dehydrates to produce alkenes and ethers under different conditions. For example, in the presence of sulphuric acid, dehydration of ethanol at 413 K yields ethoxyethane, whereas it yields ethene at 443 K.

Ethers represent a class of chemical compounds that become more dangerous with prolonged storage because they tend to form explosive peroxides when standing in the air. Autoxidation is the spontaneous oxidation of a compound in air. In the presence of oxygen, ethers slowly oxidize to form hydroperoxides and dialkyl peroxides.

Overview
Alcohols are one of the most important functional groups in organic chemistry. The name of alcohol comes from the hydrocarbon from which it is derived. Alcohols are organic molecules containing the functional hydroxyl or –OH group directly bonded to carbon. Phenols have an OH group directly attached to a benzene ring. While alcohols are colorless, phenol is a white crystalline compound with a characteristic "hospital smell" odor.
As with other organic compounds, alcohols and phenols...

This lesson delves into the concept of protection and deprotection of a functional group fundamental to synthetic organic chemistry. These phenomena are explained in the context of aliphatic and aromatic alcohols.
Protection
It defines a protecting group as the masking agent to make the more reactive species inert to a given set of conditions. This concept is depicted via the illustration of liquid flow through different outlets in an assembly of pipes. The analogy helps to understand the role...