Ethanol, 2022.

Etanol

Ethanol. This molecule contains 2 carbons, 6 hydrogens and one oxygen in the chemical structure. Ethanol is that ordinary alcohol that people drink during special occasions. It is often used as hand sanitizer and it effectively kills most of the microorganisms on the hands with a denaturation process, when cells of microorganisms stops to function properly. That’s because alcohol has ruined their proteins. Ethanol is extremely flammable. Children can get influenced by alcohol when using too much hand sanitizer. It also irritates the eyes, but there are other components in a hand sanitizer (not ethanol) that can permanently hurt your eyes.

Ethanol’s chemical structure

Here we have a chemical complex that is made of two carbon atoms (among others) that are joined together with a single bond. This alkyl group has an attached OH-group. An alkyl group is when we have an alkane chain (these carbon skeleton in question can be both very short or long), and this chemical chain is one hydrogen short. Through that vacant place the molecule is bonding with different elements as a compensation. Through plant fermentation we get ethanol (plant sugar is needed). Still ethanol is often made at the factory when a hydration of ethene occurs (ethene plus steam).

(Ethene, with one double bound) C2H4 + H2O à C2H6O

The reaction above tells us that ethene should dilute a bit with water, to make H and O to bind and replace the double bound between the carbons in ethene, then the newest compound will be made. That was a clear, explaining reaction, and ethanol that was made is an organic compound, which means that a carbon will be found that links covalently to H, O or N (most often). The pH of ethanol is nearly 7 (neutral molecule). In chemistry, the hydroxyl-group (OH-group) is joining to all alcohols. Now one reaction when ethanol becomes flammable. Below we see when ethanol reacts with oxygen:

C2H6O + 3 O2 à 2 CO2 + 3 H20 +heat (exothermic reaction)