Chapter 17: Alcohols and Phenols

Based on McMurry’s Organic Chemistry, 7th edition

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Alcohols and Phenols

Alcohols contain an OH group connected to a a saturated C (sp3) They are important solvents and synthesis intermediates Phenols contain an OH group connected to a carbon in a benzene ring Methanol, CH3OH, called methyl alcohol, is a common solvent, a fuel

additive, produced in large quantities Ethanol, CH3CH2OH, called ethyl alcohol, is a solvent, fuel, beverage Phenol, C6H5OH (“phenyl alcohol”) has diverse uses - it gives its name

to the general class of compounds OH groups bonded to vinylic, sp2-hybridized carbons are called enols

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Why this Chapter?

To begin to study oxygen-containing functional groups

These groups lie at the heart of biological chemistry

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17.1 Naming Alcohols and Phenols

General classifications of alcohols based on substitution on C to which OH is attached

Methyl (C has 3 H’s), Primary (1°) (C has two H’s, one R), secondary (2°) (C has one H, two R’s), tertiary (3°) (C has no H, 3 R’s),

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IUPAC Rules for Naming Alcohols

Select the longest carbon chain containing the hydroxyl group, and derive the parent name by replacing the -e ending of the corresponding alkane with -ol

Number the chain from the end nearer the hydroxyl group Number substituents according to position on chain, listing

the substituents in alphabetical order

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Naming Phenols

Use “phenol” (the French name for benzene) as the parent hydrocarbon name, not benzene

Name substituents on aromatic ring by their position from OH

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17.2 Properties of Alcohols and Phenols The structure around O of the alcohol or phenol is similar to that in water, sp3

hybridized Alcohols and phenols have much higher boiling points than similar alkanes and alkyl

halides A positively polarized OH hydrogen atom from one molecule is attracted to a lone

pair of electrons on a negatively polarized oxygen atom of another molecule This produces a force that holds the two molecules together These intermolecular attractions are present in solution but not in the gas phase,

thus elevating the boiling point of the solution

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Properties of Alcohols and Phenols: Acidity and Basicity Weakly basic and weakly acidic Alcohols are weak Brønsted bases Protonated by strong acids to yield oxonium ions,

ROH2+

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Alcohols and Phenols are Weak Brønsted Acids Can transfer a proton to water to a very small

extent Produces H3O+ and an alkoxide ion, RO, or

a phenoxide ion, ArO

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Acidity Measurements

The acidity constant, Ka, measures the extent to which a Brønsted acid transfers a proton to water

[A] [H3O+]Ka = ————— and pKa = log Ka

[HA] Relative acidities are more conveniently presented on

a logarithmic scale, pKa, which is directly proportional to the free energy of the equilibrium

Differences in pKa correspond to differences in free energy

Table 17.1 presents a range of acids and their pKa values

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pKa Values for Typical OH Compounds

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Relative Acidities of Alcohols

Simple alcohols are about as acidic as water Alkyl groups make an alcohol a weaker acid The more easily the alkoxide ion is solvated by water

the more its formation is energetically favored Steric effects are important

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Inductive Effects

Electron-withdrawing groups make an alcohol a stronger acid by stabilizing the conjugate base (alkoxide)

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Generating Alkoxides from Alcohols

Alcohols are weak acids – requires a strong base to form an alkoxide such as NaH, sodium amide NaNH2, and Grignard reagents (RMgX)

Alkoxides are bases used as reagents in organic chemistry

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Phenol Acidity

Phenols (pKa ~10) are much more acidic than alcohols (pKa ~ 16) due to resonance stabilization of the phenoxide ion

Phenols react with NaOH solutions (but alcohols do not), forming salts that are soluble in dilute aqueous solution

A phenolic component can be separated from an organic solution by extraction into basic aqueous solution and is isolated after acid is added to the solution

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Nitro-Phenols

Phenols with nitro groups at the ortho and para positions are much stronger acids

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17.3 Preparation of Alcohols: A Review Alcohols are derived from many types of compounds The alcohol hydroxyl can be converted to many other

functional groups This makes alcohols useful in synthesis

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Review: Preparation of Alcohols by Regiospecific Hydration of Alkenes

Hydroboration/oxidation: syn, non-Markovnikov hydration

Oxymercuration/reduction: Markovnikov hydration

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1,2-Diols

Review: Cis-1,2-diols from hydroxylation of an alkene with OsO4 followed by reduction with NaHSO3

Trans-1,2-diols from acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of epoxides

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17.4 Alcohols from Reduction of Carbonyl Compounds Reduction of a carbonyl compound in general gives

an alcohol Note that organic reduction reactions add the

equivalent of H2 to a molecule

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Reduction of Aldehydes and Ketones

Aldehydes gives primary alcohols

Ketones gives secondary alcohols

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Reduction Reagent: Sodium Borohydride NaBH4 is not sensitive to moisture and it does not

reduce other common functional groups Lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH4) is more powerful,

less specific, and very reactive with water Both add the equivalent of “H-”

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Mechanism of Reduction

The reagent adds the equivalent of hydride to the carbon of C=O and polarizes the group as well

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Reduction of Carboxylic Acids and Esters Carboxylic acids and esters are reduced to give

primary alcohols LiAlH4 is used because NaBH4 is not effective

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17.5 Alcohols from Reaction of Carbonyl Compounds with Grignard Reagents

Alkyl, aryl, and vinylic halides react with magnesium in ether or tetrahydrofuran to generate Grignard reagents, RMgX

Grignard reagents react with carbonyl compounds to yield alcohols

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Reactions of Grignard Reagents with Carbonyl Compounds

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Reactions of Esters and Grignard Reagents Yields tertiary alcohols in which two of the

substituents carbon come from the Grignard reagent Grignard reagents do not add to carboxylic acids –

they undergo an acid-base reaction, generating the hydrocarbon of the Grignard reagent

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Grignard Reagents and Other Functional Groups in the Same Molecule

Can't be prepared if there are reactive functional groups in the same molecule, including proton donors

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Mechanism of the Addition of a Grignard Reagent Grignard reagents act as nucleophilic carbon anions

(carbanions, : R) in adding to a carbonyl group The intermediate alkoxide is then protonated to

produce the alcohol

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17.6 Reactions of Alcohols Conversion of alcohols into alkyl halides:

- 3˚ alcohols react with HCl or HBr by SN1 through carbocation intermediate- 1˚ and 2˚ alcohols converted into halides by treatment with SOCl2 or PBr3

via SN2 mechanism

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Conversion of Alcohols into Tosylates

Reaction with p-toluenesulfonyl chloride (tosyl chloride, p-TosCl) in pyridine yields alkyl tosylates, ROTos

Formation of the tosylate does not involve the C–O bond so configuration at a chirality center is maintained

Alkyl tosylates react like alkyl halides

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Stereochemical Uses of Tosylates

The SN2 reaction of an alcohol via a tosylate, produces inversion at the chirality center

The SN2 reaction of an alcohol via an alkyl halide proceeds with two inversions, giving product with same arrangement as starting alcohol

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Dehydration of Alcohols to Yield Alkenes The general reaction: forming an alkene from an

alcohol through loss of O-H and H (hence dehydration) of the neighboring C–H to give bond

Specific reagents are needed

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Acid- Catalyzed Dehydration

Tertiary alcohols are readily dehydrated with acid Secondary alcohols require severe conditions (75%

H2SO4, 100°C) - sensitive molecules don't survive Primary alcohols require very harsh conditions –

impractical Reactivity is the result of the nature of the

carbocation intermediate

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Dehydration with POCl3 Phosphorus oxychloride in the amine solvent pyridine

can lead to dehydration of secondary and tertiary alcohols at low temperatures

An E2 via an intermediate ester of POCl2 (see Figure 17.7)

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Conversion of Alcohols into Esters

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17.7 Oxidation of Alcohols

Can be accomplished by inorganic reagents, such as KMnO4, CrO3, and Na2Cr2O7 or by more selective, expensive reagents

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Oxidation of Primary Alcohols

To aldehyde: pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC, C5H6NCrO3Cl) in dichloromethane

Other reagents produce carboxylic acids

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Oxidation of Secondary Alcohols

Effective with inexpensive reagents such as Na2Cr2O7 in acetic acid

PCC is used for sensitive alcohols at lower temperatures

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Mechanism of Chromic Acid Oxidation Alcohol forms a chromate ester followed by

elimination with electron transfer to give ketone The mechanism was determined by observing the

effects of isotopes on rates

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17.8 Protection of Alcohols

Hydroxyl groups can easily transfer their proton to a basic reagent

This can prevent desired reactions Converting the hydroxyl to a (removable) functional

group without an acidic proton protects the alcohol

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Methods to Protect Alcohols

Reaction with chlorotrimethylsilane in the presence of base yields an unreactive trimethylsilyl (TMS) ether

The ether can be cleaved with acid or with fluoride ion to regenerate the alcohol

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Protection-Deprotection

An example of TMS-alcohol protection in a synthesis

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17.9 Phenols and Their Uses

Industrial process from readily available cumene Forms cumene hydroperoxide with oxygen at high

temperature Converted into phenol and acetone by acid

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17.10 Reactions of Phenols

The hydroxyl group is a strongly activating, making phenols substrates for electrophilic halogenation, nitration, sulfonation, and Friedel–Crafts reactions

Reaction of a phenol with strong oxidizing agents yields a quinone

Fremy's salt [(KSO3)2NO] works under mild conditions through a radical mechanism

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Quinones in Nature

Ubiquinones mediate electron-transfer processes involved in energy production through their redox reactions

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17.11 Spectroscopy of Alcohols and Phenols Characteristic O–H stretching absorption at 3300 to

3600 cm1 in the infrared Sharp absorption near 3600 cm-1 except if H-bonded:

then broad absorption 3300 to 3400 cm1 range Strong C–O stretching absorption near 1050 cm1

(See Figure 17.11)

Phenol OH absorbs near 3500 cm-1

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Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy 13C NMR: C bonded to OH absorbs at a lower field,

50 to 80 1H NMR: electron-withdrawing effect of the nearby

oxygen, absorbs at 3.5 to 4 (See Figure 17-13) Usually no spin-spin coupling between O–H proton and

neighboring protons on C due to exchange reactions with moisture or acids

Spin–spin splitting is observed between protons on the oxygen-bearing carbon and other neighbors

Phenol O–H protons absorb at 3 to 8

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Mass Spectrometry

Alcohols undergo alpha cleavage, a C–C bond nearest the hydroxyl group is broken, yielding a neutral radical plus a charged oxygen-containing fragment

Alcohols undergo dehydration to yield an alkene radical anion