Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Structure and Nomenclature of Alcohols and Phenols

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...

Oxidation of Alcohols

Oxidation of Alcohols

In this lesson, the oxidation of alcohols is discussed in depth. The various reagents used for oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols are detailed, and their mechanism of action is provided.
The process of oxidation in a chemical reaction is observed in any of the three forms:

Ethers from Alcohols: Alcohol Dehydration and Williamson Ether Synthesis

Ethers from Alcohols: Alcohol Dehydration and Williamson Ether Synthesis

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.

Protection of Alcohols

Protection of Alcohols

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...

Preparation of Alcohols via Substitution Reactions

Preparation of Alcohols via Substitution Reactions

Overview
Alcohols can be synthesized from alkyl halides via nucleophilic substitution reactions. The highly polar carbon-halogen bond in the substrate makes halide a good leaving group. The hydroxide ion or water can act as a nucleophile to take the place of halide and form an alcohol. The substitution reactions occur via two different reaction pathways, SN1 or SN2, depending on the nature of carbon attached to the halide.
Primary alcohols are synthesized from primary alkyl halides, and the...

Esters to Alcohols: Hydride Reductions

Esters to Alcohols: Hydride Reductions

Esters are reduced to primary alcohols when treated with a strong reducing agent like lithium aluminum hydride. The reaction requires two equivalents of the reducing agent and proceeds via an aldehyde intermediate.
Lithium aluminum hydride is a source of hydride ions and functions as a nucleophile. The mechanism proceeds in three steps. Firstly, the nucleophilic hydride ion attacks the carbonyl carbon of the ester to form a tetrahedral intermediate. Subsequently, the carbonyl group re-forms,...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Elucidating psychosocial outcome profiles as a function of aggregate genetic risk for suicide attempt and alcohol use disorder.

Translational psychiatry·2026

Same author

High Prevalence of Suicidal Behavior in Severe Alcohol Use Disorder Linked to Specific Neurocognitive Deficits: The Cognition, Alcohol, Genes, and Environment Study.

Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs·2026

Same author

Leveraging Family Genetic Risk Scores to Understand the Etiology of Suicidal Behaviors and Their Associations With Psychiatric Disorders.

Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica·2026

Same author

Suicidality phenotypes reflect both shared and distinct genetic factors.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences·2026

Same author

The protective effect of pregnancy on risk for suicide attempt in a Swedish national cohort.

Scientific reports·2026

Same author

Growth Trajectories of Suicide Ideation and Attempt in a Population-Based Cohort from the United States.

Archives of suicide research : official journal of the International Academy for Suicide Research·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Modeling Alcohol Consumption in Rodents Using Two-Bottle Choice Home Cage Drinking and Microstructural Analysis

Modeling Alcohol Consumption in Rodents Using Two-Bottle Choice Home Cage Drinking and Microstructural Analysis

Published on: November 8, 2024

Childhood Risk Factors for Heavy Episodic Alcohol Use and Alcohol Problems in Late Adolescence: A Marginal Structural

Kenneth S Kendler^1,2,3, Charles O Gardner^1,2, Alexis C Edwards^1,2

¹Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, Virginia.

Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs

|June 10, 2018

Summary

Parental alcohol problems strongly predict adolescent drinking, with causal links. Peer deviance and antisocial behavior also show causal associations, but with some confounding. Low monitoring and sensation seeking are less causally linked to adolescent alcohol issues.

More Related Videos

Handwriting Analysis Indicates Spontaneous Dyskinesias in Neuroleptic Naïve Adolescents at High Risk for Psychosis

Handwriting Analysis Indicates Spontaneous Dyskinesias in Neuroleptic Naïve Adolescents at High Risk for Psychosis

Published on: November 21, 2013

The Polyvinyl Alcohol Sponge Model Implantation

The Polyvinyl Alcohol Sponge Model Implantation

Published on: April 18, 2012

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Modeling Alcohol Consumption in Rodents Using Two-Bottle Choice Home Cage Drinking and Microstructural Analysis

Modeling Alcohol Consumption in Rodents Using Two-Bottle Choice Home Cage Drinking and Microstructural Analysis

Published on: November 8, 2024

Handwriting Analysis Indicates Spontaneous Dyskinesias in Neuroleptic Naïve Adolescents at High Risk for Psychosis

Handwriting Analysis Indicates Spontaneous Dyskinesias in Neuroleptic Naïve Adolescents at High Risk for Psychosis

Published on: November 21, 2013

The Polyvinyl Alcohol Sponge Model Implantation

The Polyvinyl Alcohol Sponge Model Implantation

Published on: April 18, 2012

Area of Science:

Adolescent health
Behavioral science
Public health

Background:

Understanding predictors of adolescent alcohol use is crucial for prevention.
Previous studies suggest various childhood factors influence later alcohol-related behaviors.
Longitudinal data is essential to establish causal relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the causal nature of associations between childhood predictors and adolescent alcohol use.
To differentiate between causal and confounding effects of predictors.
To inform targeted interventions for preventing adolescent alcohol problems.

Main Methods:

Analysis of data from 7,168 subjects in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).
Utilized linear probability and marginal structural models to assess associations.
Examined predictors like parental alcohol problems, peer deviance, antisocial behavior, low parental monitoring, and sensation seeking.

Main Results:

Parental alcohol problems showed no significant attenuation, suggesting a strong causal link.
Peer deviance and antisocial behavior had modestly attenuated associations (10%-20%), indicating mostly causal but some confounding effects.
Low parental monitoring (41% attenuation) and sensation seeking (35% attenuation) showed moderate attenuation, suggesting substantial confounding.

Conclusions:

Parental alcohol problems appear to have a largely causal impact on adolescent drinking.
Peer deviance and antisocial behavior have significant causal influences, though confounding factors exist.
Low parental monitoring and sensation seeking are less causally linked, with confounding playing a larger role in their association with adolescent alcohol outcomes.