Benzyl Alcohol: Overview, Questions, Preparation

Benzyl alcohol is a colourless chemical compound with the chemical formula of C6H5CH2OH. The symbol of the benzyl group is 'Bn' & Benzyl alcohol is abbreviated as 'BnOH'. Benzyl alcohol is not fully soluble in water, alcohol, and others. It has a limited solubility level.

Benzyl alcohol is produced with the help of hydrolysed benzyl chloride. The chemical reaction is:

C6H5CH2Cl + H2O → C6H5CH2OH + HCl

 Structure of Benzyl alcohol

This aromatic chemical compound consists of a hydroxyl group attached to it. The benzyl alcohol can be categorised into primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohol. The diagrammatic illustration of primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohol of benzyl alcohol is below:

The above diagram shows the difference between chemical groups of benzyl alcohol in primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols.

Physical Properties of Benzyl alcohol

1. Benzyl alcohol is a colourless liquid with a slightly aromatic essence to it.
2. Benzyl alcohol is not fully soluble in water; it is between 3.5g/100ml and 4.29g/100ml.
3. This chemical compound is soluble in acetone, benzene, ether, and methanol up to some extent.

Chemical properties of Benzyl alcohol

1. The process of deprotonation can cause benzyl alcohol to produce benzylated anion.
2. When benzyl alcohol and carboxylic acids react with each other, the esters form.
3. After the formation of esters, the chemical compound reacts with acrylonitrile to produce N-benzyl acrylamide.

There are numerous uses of benzyl alcohol, and they are listed below:

1. Solvent – benzyl alcohol is a common solvent to waxes, inks, paints, etc., it acts as a solvent to esters, like in the formation of perfumes and soaps.
2. Health care – Benzyl alcohol is used for health treatments, medicines, cosmetics, and other tropical drugs. Benzyl alcohol is sold under the name of 'Ulesfia'. It is widely used for the treatment of lice, and this chemical compound is an active ingredient for the manufacturing of shampoos, having a 5% concentration.
3. Other – There are some other uses of benzyl alcohol in the physics world. Wool fibre soaked in benzyl alcohol solution can become invisible, only showing dark matters and dark, concentrated content.

Benzyl alcohol for Class 12

For the current year of 2021, the chapter on alcohols, phenols, and ethers holds a weightage of 6 marks including one short question (3 marks), one very short question (2 marks), and one objective type question (1 mark).

A. The acidity of benzyl alcohol is 15.40 PKA.

A. The IUPAC name of benzyl alcohol is Phenylmethanol.

A. Yes, benzyl alcohol is dangerous if used directly into the skin. The flesh of the skin might come off when in direct contact with benzyl alcohol. It can also cause inflammation.

A. The concentration of alcohol in benzyl alcohol ranges between 0.9 % to 2.0 % depending upon the use and quantity.

A. The benzyl alcohol solution is used with the help of a chromatographic procedure.

A. The chemical formula of benzyl ethyl ether is C9H12O, it contains 9 molecules of carbon, 12 of hydrogen, and one of oxygen.

Q. What is the acidity level of benzyl alcohol?

Q. What is the IUPAC name of benzyl alcohol?

Q. Is benzyl alcohol dangerous?

Q. What is the content of alcohol in benzyl alcohol?

Q. How to remove the benzyl alcohol solution?

Q. State the chemical formula of benzyl ethyl ether.

Q. Write the chemical reaction between benzyl alcohol and acrylonitrile.

Q. State the exact soluble level of benzyl alcohol with water.