Question

Is alcohol acid or a base?

Answer 1

Acid and Base:

1. Acid is a chemical that when dissolved in water produces the Hydrogen ion. It raises the Hydrogen ion concentration in the solution.$\underset{\mathrm{Hydrogen}\mathrm{chloride}}{\mathrm{HCl}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)}\to \underset{\mathrm{Hydrogen}\mathrm{ion}}{{\mathrm{H}}^{+}}+\underset{\mathrm{Chloride}\mathrm{ion}}{{\mathrm{Cl}}^{-}}$
2. The base is a chemical that dissolves in an aqueous solution and produces the hydroxide ion. The solution has a high concentration of Hydroxide ions. $\underset{\mathrm{Potassium}\mathrm{hydroxide}}{\mathrm{KOH}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)}\to \underset{\mathrm{Potassum}\mathrm{ion}}{{\mathrm{K}}^{+}}+\underset{\mathrm{Hydroxide}\mathrm{ion}}{{\mathrm{OH}}^{-}}$

Alcohols:

1. An organic molecule with a hydroxyl group$\left({\mathrm{OH}}^{-}\right)$ attached to a carbon atom is known as alcohol.
2. It is neither acidic nor basic when dissolved in water because it does neither form Hydrogen ion nor Hydroxide ion in solution. $\underset{\mathrm{Ethanol}}{{\mathrm{C}}_2{\mathrm{H}}_5\mathrm{OH}}+\underset{\mathrm{Water}}{{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}}\leftrightharpoons \underset{\mathrm{Hydronium}\mathrm{ion}}{{\mathrm{H}}_3{\mathrm{O}}^{+}}+\underset{\mathrm{Ethoxide}\mathrm{ion}}{{\mathrm{C}}_2{\mathrm{H}}_5{\mathrm{O}}^{-}}$
3. It is neither a basic nor an acid but it is amphoteric in nature because depending on what it is coupled with and the reaction we want to achieve, it can work as either.

Therefore, Alcohol is neither acid nor base.