Question #ccb8f
1 Answer
Nov 8, 2017
Because of the length of the hydrocarbon.
Explanation:
Boiling points of the alcohol increase with the increase in the carbon chain. When the length of carbon chain increases the van der Waals dispersion forces increase which results in an increase in the strength and size of the temporarily induced dipole-dipole attraction. So, high energy is required to overcome the intermolecular force of attraction. Hence 1-heptanol has higher boiling than methanol.
And also when the hydrocarbon chain increases, the hydrophobic character of the molecule also increases and the solubility of the alcohol in water gradually decreases until it becomes essentially insoluble in water. Hence 1-heptanol is less soluble in water than methanol.
