Boiling Temperatures of Compounds 2-hexanone, 1-hexanol, 2-pentanone, 2-hexanol

Essential Chemistry 2
Boiling Temperatures of Compounds 2-hexanone, 1-hexanol,
2-pentanone, 2-hexanol
Abstract: In organic chemistry, the melting and boiling points of organic compounds is an
important property as it is used to give other physical and structural behaviours of the
compounds. A liquid boils when its gas pressure equals the atmospheric pressure. The kinetic
energy becomes enough to break the bonds holding the liquid particles together when boiling
point is reached. 2-hexanone, 2-pentanone and 2-hexanol are hydrocarbons having covalent
bonds. This article compares the boiling points of the above compares and the explanation for
their disparities.
Key words: Organic compounds. Hexanol. Hexanone. Pentanone. Boiling point
Table of Contents
Table 1.................................................................................................3
Introduction...........................................................................................2
The boiling points.....................................................................................2
Conclusion.............................................................................................4
Reference..............................................................................................5
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Essential Chemistry 2
Introduction
The differences between boiling points of different liquids can be explained using some
chemistry laws. A boiling point of a liquid is the steady temperature at which the liquid changes
it states from liquid to gases state without change in temperature. The heat energy is absorbed
and used to weaken the attraction forces between the liquid molecules causing the intermolecular
distance to increasing thus changing the state from liquid to gases (Ferris, 2018).
Boiling point temperatures of liquids is determined by masses of molecules and the strength of
intermolecular forces existing within the structures of the liquids and these forces include various
types of bonds such van der Waals forces and hydrogen bond (Spencer L. Seager, 2013).
Intermolecular forces are caused by bonding of molecules of substances and this forces give a
substance it’s physical characteristics. The boiling temperatures is directly proportional to the
molecular mass and strength of forces existing within the molecules of a liquid thus as the forces
and molecular mass goes up so does the boiling point temperatures.
The Boiling Points
These four compounds namely 1-hexanol, 2-hexanol, 2-hexanone and 2-pentanone have different
boiling point temperatures. Their boiling point temperatures are as shown in table 1 below. The
boiling point temperatures of the compounds differ due to intermolecular forces (S.K. Bhasin,
2013). There are various types of intermolecular forces including weak van der Waals forces
and hydrogen bonding. In our case, weak van der waals forces also termed as weak London
dispersion forces is evident in hydrocarbons whereby it exists between layers of molecules while
in hydrogen bonding dipolar force exists caused by hydrogen atoms (Pillon, 2016). As shown in
table 1 below, 1-Hexanol (C6H14O) is first in table with a boiling temperature of 157 oC, followed
by 2-hexanol (C6H14O) having a boiling temperature of 137 oC. Their high boiling is due to the
high molecular mass caused by higher number of carbon atoms and in addition they are made of
ketone which has higher mass than both 2-hexanone and 2-pentanone.
Weak van der waals forces are intermolecular forces in both 2-hexanol and 1- hexanol
hydrocarbons. Due to high number of carbons in the compounds, the sum total of all
intermolecular forces is greater as compared to other compounds such as 2-pentanone. The weak
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