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Structure and Nomenclature of Alcohols and Phenols02:23

Structure and Nomenclature of Alcohols and Phenols

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...
Five-Membered Heterocyclic Aromatic Compounds: Overview01:13

Five-Membered Heterocyclic Aromatic Compounds: Overview

Heterocyclic aromatic compounds are cyclic compounds that are aromatic and have one or more heteroatoms—atoms other than carbon, in the ring. Depending upon the number of atoms present in the ring, they can be either five or six-membered. Examples of five-membered heterocyclic aromatic compounds include pyrrole, furan, thiophene, and imidazole. Pyrrole consists of one nitrogen atom having one lone pair of electrons. Furan and thiophene have one oxygen and one sulfur heteroatom, respectively.
UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Woodward–Fieser Rules01:29

UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Woodward–Fieser Rules

UV–Visible absorption spectra of conjugated dienes arise from the lowest energy π → π* transitions. The light-absorbing part of the molecule is called the chromophore, and the substituents directly attached to the chromophore are called auxochromes. A strong correlation exists between the absorption maxima, λmax, and the structure of a conjugated π system. The Woodward–Fieser rules predict the value of λmax for a given structure by adding the contributions...
Hydrolysis of Chlorobenzene to Phenol: Dow Process01:10

Hydrolysis of Chlorobenzene to Phenol: Dow Process

Simple aryl halides do not react with nucleophiles under normal conditions. However, the reaction can proceed under drastic conditions involving high temperatures and high pressure to give the substituted products. For example, chlorobenzene is converted to phenol using aqueous sodium hydroxide at 350 °C under high pressure by the Dow process. The reaction follows an elimination-addition mechanism involving a benzyne intermediate. Here, the chloride ion is eliminated to generate the benzyne...
Diazonium Group Substitution with Halogens and Cyanide: Sandmeyer and Schiemann Reactions01:20

Diazonium Group Substitution with Halogens and Cyanide: Sandmeyer and Schiemann Reactions

Arenediazonium substitution reactions occur when the diazonium group is substituted by various functional groups such as halides, hydroxyl, nitrile, etc. For instance, arenediazonium salts react with copper(I) salts of chloride, bromide, or cyanide to form corresponding aryl chlorides, bromides, and nitriles. These reactions are named Sandmeyer reactions. Although the mechanism of this reaction is complicated, as illustrated in Figure 1, they are believed to progress via an aryl copper...
Acidity and Basicity of Alcohols and Phenols02:36

Acidity and Basicity of Alcohols and Phenols

Like water, alcohols are weak acids and bases. This is attributed to the polarization of the O–H bond making the hydrogen partially positive. Moreover, the electron pairs on the oxygen atom of alcohol make it both basic and nucleophilic. Protonation of an alcohol converts hydroxide, a poor leaving group, into water—a good one. The two acid–base equilibria corresponding to ethanol are depicted below.