LBYCH63, EA2, Group # 5

Experiment #8: Qualitative Analysis of Alcohols and Phenols

Nicolas, Zophia Beatrice I.
Instructor: Sir Glenn Tan
Date Performed: November 14, 2014
Date Submitted: November 21, 2014
Abstract
Qualitative analyses of the different types of alcohols and phenols were carried out. In the majority of experiment,
four test samples were used namely: ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, tert-butyl alcohol, and phenol. With these, the
objectives of the experiment are to make an analysis of different types of alcohols and phenols using different
methods namely: the use of sodium metal for the detection of acidic hydrogen in alcohols, the comparison of
oxidizing conditions of a compound using different solutions, the comparison of oxidation rates of the different types
of alcohols using one medium, ceric nitrate test, chromic acid test, Lucas test, the comparison of the relative acidity
of phenol with other compounds, phenol reaction with bromine water, and ferric chloride test; write the balanced
chemical equations of the reactions; identify 1, 2 and 3 alcohols; and distinguish alcohols and phenols from other
compounds. In each test, different samples were used and each of their reaction was observed for any indications
of a positive test. These can be helpful in analyzing and identifying unknown compounds by analyzing their
properties. In some tests, several compounds experienced side reactions due to contamination, unclean equipment,
and poorly prepared reagents that might have been stored for a long time already. Moreover, most of the tests had
limitations. With that, several other tests are recommended like iodoform test and interpretation of infrared spectra
in order to aid the quantitative analysis and identification of organic compounds specifically alcohols and phenols.

I.

Introduction

One of the objectives of this experiment is to make

qualitative analyses of the different types of alcohols
and phenols using different methods namely: the use
of sodium metal for the detection of acidic hydrogen
in alcohols, the comparison of oxidizing conditions of
a compound using different solutions, the comparison
of oxidation rates of the different types of alcohols
using one medium, ceric nitrate test, chromic acid
test, Lucas test, the comparison of the relative acidity
of phenol with other compounds, phenol reaction with
bromine water, and ferric chloride test. Also, the
experiment aims to write the balanced equations of
the reactions observed in the laboratory, identify 1,
2 and 3 alcohols, and distinguish alcohols and
phenols from other compounds.
These tests are used to make analyses using the
properties of different alcohols and phenols in
different reactions. They can aid in identifying
alcohols and phenols from other compounds and can
also be used together to identify an unknown type of
alcohol by analyzing its different properties and
interpreting them. Moreover, these tests are based on
the concept of structural theory of organic chemistry.
This means that these qualitative tests can help in the
further understanding of the structural properties of
both alcohols and phenols. Also, some have practical
applications like detection of certain compounds in a
sample. However, it is very important to note the

limitations of each test. Moreover, it is very important

to make preliminary tests on a compound before a
reaction such as noting the physical characteristics
like its state, color and odor, solubility, and the acidity
using litmus paper, depending on the type of test to
be done. After the reaction, the same tests and
observations should be done in order to check the
changes in the characteristics of the compound.
Different reactions have different effects on certain
compounds.
Alcohols (R-OH) are organic compounds with an
aliphatic hydrocarbon group (R) that have a hydroxyl
group (-OH) bonded to an sp3 hybridized carbon
atom. They may be looked upon as derivatives of
water, HOH (Properties of alcohols and phenols,
n.d.). Since only the H and C atoms are bonded to O
and there are two non-bonded electron pairs, the
shape around O is bent. Alcohols are colorless liquids
with a faint smell, and they usually have relatively high
boiling temperature and are soluble in water.
The types of alcohol depend on the type of carbon
atom the OH group is bonded. These types are the
primary (1 ), secondary (2 ) and tertiary (3 )
alcohols. In this experiment, the primary alcohol to be
tested is ethanol, isopropyl alcohol and tert-butyl
alcohol for the secondary and tertiary alcohols.
Different types of alcohols differ in numerous
reactions. One factor is that its O atom has the ability
to hydrogen bond with water. This ability depends on
the length of the longest chain in the compound.

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According to J. Smith, an organic compound is water

soluble only if it contains one polar functional group
capable of hydrogen bonding with the solvent for
every five C atoms it contains (2011). A smaller atom
has an OH group that can hydrogen bond in it, which
means it is soluble in water. An example is the
methanol that only has one carbon atom in its longest
chain. This makes it completely soluble in water. On
the other hand, longer chains make compounds more
non-polar; therefore, they are more soluble in organic
compounds than in water.

to identify the solutions acidity before and after the

reaction. Anhydrous magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) is
added to produce dry alcohol since it is hygroscopic
and readily accepts water. It is used in the test
because of the tendency of sodium metal to react
violently with water. After the reaction, an alkoxide is
formed and hydrogen gas is released. Alkoxide is the
organic functional group formed when a hydrogen
atom is removed from a hydroxyl group of an alcohol
when reacted with a metal (Helmenstine, n.d.).It can
be observed in the reaction:
Na(s) + ROH(l)

Figure 1. Ethanol, an example of alcohol with 2 carbon atoms in

the longest chain

On the contrary, phenols (Ph-OH) are organic

compounds that have a hydroxyl group bonded to an
sp2 hybridized carbon atom attached to an aromatic
ring (benzene). Just like alcohols, the solubility of
phenols in water decreases with the attachment of
non-polar groups to the aromatic ring.

The next one is the comparison of oxidizing

conditions of a compound using different solutions. It
tests whether oxidization is more favorable and more
rapid in acidic, basic or neutral conditions. Each type
of solution results in a unique color change. In an acid
medium, the resulting solution is light pink; in a basic
medium, it turns to green, while in neutral medium, it
remains unchanged. In acidic medium, MnO4-,
reduces to Mn2+, while in basic MnO4- reduces to
MnO4.
The rate of oxidation of alcohols and phenol can also
be tested using one common medium, which is
usually acidic. This is because permanganate is
reduced to its greatest extent in acidic solutions and
least in basic solutions. This means lesser amount of
KMnO4 is needed since more electrons are
transferred per mole KMnO4. An oxidized solution
turns to green; otherwise, it remains yellow. It has a
general chemical equation of:
3RCH2OH + Cr2O72- + 8H+
7H2O

Figure 2. Phenol

In both alcohols and phenols, the reactive site is the

hydroxyl group due to the difference of
electronegativity of oxygen and carbon and the
nucleophilic state of oxygen. The hydroxyl group
allows electric substitution to phenols.
These differences can be observed using tests, and
this is the goal of the experiment. One test uses
sodium metal to detect the acidic hydrogen in a
compound by observing the reaction between them
and changes in the solution such as production of
bubbles, color change and disappearance of the
sodium metal. These observations indicate a positive
result or the existence of acidic hydrogen in the
alcohol. Moreover, a litmus paper test is done in order

RONa(l) + H2(g)

3RCHO + 2Cr3+ +

One test is the ceric nitrate test that uses cerium

ammonium nitrate [(NH4)2Ce(NO3)6], an oxidizing
agent, in identifying whether an unknown compound
is an alcohol or not. However, its limitation is that it
can only test alcohols with carbons fewer than ten. An
immediate formation of red color indicates a positive
test for alcohols with the general chemical equation,

Figure 3. Initial reaction in ceric nitrate test (Practical organic

chemistry, n.d.).

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distinguished. However, the limitation of Lucas test is

that the unknown should be soluble in the Lucas
reagent, which means it should only have a maximum
of six carbons.
ZnCl2

For primary alcohols: R-CH2-OH + HCl

R-CH2-Cl + H2O (clears up after 5 minutes)
ZnCl2

For secondary alcohols: RRCHOH + HCl

RRCHCl + H2O (after 5 mins)
ZnCl2

For tertiary alcohols: RRRCOH + HCl

RRRCCl + H2O (instantaneous)
Figure 4. Complete oxidation in ceric nitrate test (Practical organic
chemistry, n.d.).

For identifying whether what type of alcohol a

compound is, several tests are performed such as
chromic acid test and Lucas test. Chromic acid test
distinguishes tertiary alcohols from primary and
secondary ones by oxidation. Chromic acid can be
prepared by mixing sodium dichromate and sulfuric
acid. It oxidizes primary alcohols to aldehyde, which
oxidizes further to carboxylic acid (Experiment 6,
n.d.).

Another test analyzes the relative acidity of phenols

with other compounds such as glacial acetic acid and
ethanol. Phenol reacts with a base to produce water
and a phenoxide ion.

H2O

3RCH2OH + 2CrO3 + 3H2SO4

Cr2(SO4)3 + 6H2O

3R-CHO +

Meanwhile, chromic acid oxidizes secondary alcohols

to ketones, and unlike primary alcohols, it does not
oxidize any further.
H2O

3R2CHOH + 2CrO3 + 3H2SO4

Cr2(SO4)3 + 6H2O

Figure 5. Reactions of phenols with bases (Reactions of

aldehydes, ketones and phenols, 2011).

The next test distinguishes phenols from other

compounds by reacting it with bromine water. A
positive test shows a formation of white immiscible
layer and an antiseptic smell.

3R-CRO +

The final solution turns to green and indicates a

positive test. On the other hand, tertiary alcohols
remain unreacted and the color remains unchanged.
H2O

3R3COH + CrO3 + H2SO4

No Reaction

In order to distinguish the remaining types of alcohol

namely, primary and secondary alcohols, Lucas
reagent is reacted to them and produces alkyl
chloride. Lucas reagent is a solution of anhydrous
zinc chloride (ZnCl2) in concentrated HCl.
Lucas reagent does not react with primary alcohols;
however, it reacts with some secondary alcohols
within five to ten minutes and reacts with all tertiary
alcohols instantaneously. A positive test is indicated
by a formation of an immiscible, cloudy layer or an
emulsion of the alkyl chloride. With this test, the
primary alcohol can be identified, and by the process
of cancellation, the secondary alcohol will also be

Figure 6. Reaction of phenols with bromine water (Reactions of

aldehydes, ketones and phenols, 2011).

Lastly, a test using ferric chloride can be made in

order to distinguish phenols from most alcohols.
Reactions of phenols and ferric chloride produce a
pink, violet or green solution. The color depends on
the structure of the phenol tested.
3ArOH + FeCl3
II.

Fe(OAr)3 + 3HCl

Experimental Procedure

The first test was the sodium detection for acid

hydrogen. In this test, a pinch of anhydrous
magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) was added into 95%

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ethanol (C2H6O). By adding MgSO4, the water in the

ethanol solution was removed. The solution was
shaken and filtered using gravity filtration producing a
dry alcohol. A litmus paper test was carried out, and
the red litmus paper remained red, while the blue one
turned to red. The provided sodium metal (Na) in
kerosene was wiped clean by putting it on a filter
paper, folding the paper, and pressing the sodium
metal inside. It is then reacted with the previously
prepared dry alcohol. Upon doing this, the solution
started to produce bubbles and the size of the sodium
metal started to decrease. Also, the bottom part of the
test tube became warmer. This continued on until the
sodium metal completely disappeared. Another litmus
paper test was done, and this time, red litmus paper
turned to blue and the blue one stayed blue. The
solution was disposed of after the sodium metal
completely disappeared.

1 mL of ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, tert-butyl alcohol,

and phenol were added. Then, 5 drops of 6M sulfuric
acid were introduced together with 5 drops of 1%
potassium dichromate. The rates of the reaction and
the final colors were recorded. The ethanol solution
turned to green with a few patches of yellow in it after
1 minutes and 40 seconds, the isopropyl solution
turned to green after 3 minutes and 50 seconds, the
phenol solution turned to brown instantly, and nothing
happened to the tert-butyl solution.
The fourth test was the ceric nitrate test. First, in three
test tubes, 1 mL of ceric nitrate solution was added in
each. In test tubes one, two and three, 10 drops of
ethanol, isopropyl alcohol and tert-butyl alcohols were
added respectively, and the solutions were covered
and mixed. A fourth test tube was prepared
containing 0.5 mL water and 1 mL ceric nitrate. All the
resulting solutions had only one layer. The solutions
in test tubes two and three turned to red-orange, while
that of test tube one turned to yellow-orange. The
solution of the last test tube stayed yellow.

Figure 7. Reaction of sodium metal with alcohol.

The next test was the comparison of oxidation of a

compound using solutions of different acidity: acidic,
basic and neutral. Three test tubes each with 2mL
water and 5 drops of ethanol alcohol were prepared.
In the first test tube, a drop of the 6M sulfuric acid was
added, and a drop of 6M sodium hydroxide to the
second one. Nothing was added to the third one.
Then, two drops of 1% potassium permanganate
were added to each of the three solutions. The times
at which the resulting solution changed were
recorded. Immediately, the solution in the first test
tube turned from purple to peach. After 7 minutes and
43 seconds, the solution in the second test tube
turned from purple to blue-green. On the other hand,
nothing happened in the third test tube since it
remained purple.
Afterwards, the comparison of oxidation rates of
alcohols was carried out. In four different test tubes,

Figure 8. Results of the ceric nitrate test (from left to right:

ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, tert-butyl alcohol, water).

Then, a chromic acid test was done by adding to test

tubes one, two, three, and four 1 mL of reagent grade
acetone and 4 drops of chromic acid in each. Ethanol,
isopropyl alcohol, tert-butyl alcohol, and phenol were
added respectively in the four test tubes. The
solutions in test tubes one and two turned to bluegreen, while the third one did not react. The phenol
solution turned brown afterwards.
The next test is the Lucas test. First, three test tubes
with 1 mL Lucas reagent were prepared. Ten drops of
ethanol were added to the first test tube, ten drops of
isopropyl alcohol to the second one, and ten drops of
tert-butyl alcohol to the third one. All were stoppered

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and shook briskly. Immediately, the solution in the

third test tube turned into a cloud, murky solution. The
same thing happened to the isopropyl solution after 7
minutes and 45 seconds. On the other hand, the
solution in the first test tube remained unreacted.

Figure 10. Reaction of bromine water and phenols.

Figure 9. Results of the Lucas test (from left to right: ethanol,

isopropyl alcohol, tert-butyl alcohol).

The seventh test was the comparison of the relative

acidity of phenol with other compounds. In a test tube
with 0.5 mL water, 5 drops of phenol were added. The
resulting solution was tested with litmus paper. It
turned the blue litmus paper to red, while the red one
remained the same. The solution was then added into
a 1 mL of 10% sodium bicarbonate solution. Another
litmus paper test was done with the red litmus paper
turning to blue and the blue one staying as it is. The
same procedure was done to two different test tubes
both containing 0.5 mL water and one containing 10
drops of glacial acetic acid, while the other contained
the same number of drops ethanol. The initial litmus
paper test resulted in the turning of the blue litmus
paper in the glacial acetic acid to red and the red one
was staying as it is, while both litmus papers in
ethanol remained blue and red. After the addition of
sodium bicarbonate, the litmus paper in the glacial
acetic acid remained red, while the litmus papers in
the ethanol remained unchanged. Also, a significant
number of bubbles appeared. In the ethanol solution,
the blue and red litmus papers did not change, and
there was no production of bubbles.
Afterwards, reaction of phenol with bromine water
was done. In a test tube containing 5 drops of phenol,
10 drops of bromine were added. Immediately, a
white cloudy precipitate was formed as seen in figure
8. Also, a strong odor was observed.

The last test was the ferric chloride test for water
soluble phenols. Six test tubes were prepared, each
containing 1 mL of ethyl alcohol. In each test tube, a
drop of a different solution was added namely,
phenol, resorcinol, salicylic acid, hydroquinone,
acetic acid, and ethyl alcohol. Four drops of 1% ferric
chloride were added to each test tubes. The solutions
containing phenol, resorcinol and ethyl alcohol turned
from transparent to yellow. The acetic acid solution
turned from colorless to dark orange. The solutions of
hydroquinone and salicylic acid turned from orange to
dark orange and colorless to violet respectively.

Figure 11. Results of the ferric chloride test.

III.

Results and Discussion

In the first test, the addition of sodium metal in the dry

alcohol resulted in the formation sodium alkoxide as
observed in the reaction:
2CH3CH2OH(l) + 2Na(s)

2CH3CH2ONa(l) + H2(g)

The sodium metal started to disappear because it

started to displace the H atom in the hydroxyl group

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of the ethyl alcohol. This resulted in the production of

hydrogen gas. This displacement of H proves the
existence of acidic hydrogen in the alcohol, and it
explains the results of the litmus paper test wherein
the solution was found out to have changed from
acidic to basic. This can be further explained by the
production of ethoxide ions (CH3CH2O-), which have
high pH. Also, the bottom part of the test tube became
warmer because the reaction of sodium metal and dry
alcohol released heat and is exothermic.
In comparing the oxidation of ethanol with potassium
permanganate in solutions of different acidities, it was
observed that oxidation was fastest in the basic
medium (NaOH) rather than the acidic one (H2SO4).
The oxidation of ethanol in an alkaline medium has a
balance equation of:
12H+ + 4MnO4- + 5C2H5OH
5CH3COOH + 11H2O

4Mn2+ +

The next one to oxidize was the isopropyl alcohol, a

secondary alcohol, and it produce a ketone called
acetone with the reaction:
3C2H5CH2OH + Cr2O72- + 8H+
2Cr3+ + 7H2O

Unlike acetaldehyde and other aldehydes, ketone did

not oxidize further since it contains two Rs attached
to the carbonyl group (C=O). These two Rs cause
steric hindrance which made it harder for the OH to
attack the carbon atom since it had to push the two
large groups. The resulting green color of the
solutions in test tubes one and two was caused by
Cr3+.
Tert-butyl alcohol, a tertiary alcohol, did not give a
reaction because it only contains R groups and no
better leaving group like H.
C4H9OH+ Cr2O72- + 8H+

Oxidation of ethanol and the reduction of potassium

permanganate in H2SO4 produced acetic acid and
Mn2+, which gave the pale pink color of the solution.
The balanced chemical equation of oxidation of
ethanol in acidic medium is:
4MnO4- + 3C2H5OH

4MnO4+ 3CH3COOH +
H2O

On the other hand, the production of MnO2 together

with acetic acid from the reaction of ethanol in a
NaOH solution resulted in the green color of the
solution. Oxidation did not happen in water since it is
a neutral solution and did not cause redox reactions.
In the following test, the rates of oxidation of different
compounds using one common medium were
observed, and it was noted that primary alcohols like
ethanol oxidize first with the reaction:
3CH3CH2OH + Cr2O72- + 8H+
2Cr3+ + 7H2O

3C2H5CHO +

No Reaction

The phenol gave negative results because it had a

reaction different from oxidation since it turned brown.
One possible source of this error is that phenol was
oxidized by chromic acid producing quinones that
give a dark color mixture. This is because chromic
acid is strong enough to oxidize phenol. This might
have been caused by the repeated use of test tubes
for different kinds of tests specifically the chromic acid
test.
The ceric nitrate test produced positive results for all
four alcohols: ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, tert-butyl
alcohol.
CH3CH2OH + [(Ce(NO3)6]2[(Ce(NO3)5(OCH3CH2)]2- + HNO3
C2H5CH2OH + [(Ce(NO3)6]2[(Ce(NO3)5(OC2H5CH2)]2- + HNO3

3CH3CHO +

Ethanol oxidized to form acetaldehyde, an aldehyde.

Aldehydes can be oxidized further to form carboxylic
acids. One observation is the patches of yellow in the
test tube that might be caused by excess addition of
potassium dichromate. The primary alcohol oxidized
sooner than other types because all the surrounding
atoms are hydrogen, which made it easier to be
oxidized by oxidizing agents such as potassium
dichromate.

C4H9OH + [(Ce(NO3)6]2[(Ce(NO3)5(OC4H9OH)]2- + HNO3

The oxidation reactions above formed a alkoxycerium
compound [(Ce(NO3)5(OR)]2- from the red complex
(NH4)2Ce(NO3)5(OR). This complex caused the red
color upon the reaction of ceric nitrate with the
alcohols. The fourth test tube containing water and
ceric ammonium nitrate was used as a comparison
with the other solutions.
Chromic acid test was used to distinguish tertiary
alcohols from other types of alcohols using reductionoxidation reactions. Ethyl alcohol reacted with

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chromic acid to produce water, acetaldehyde, and

chromium(III) sulfate [Cr2(SO4)3].

butyl alcohol is a tertiary alcohol even without

knowing initially what type of alcohols they are.

H2O

3CH3CH2OH + 2CrO3 + 3H2SO4

3CH3CHO + Cr2(SO4)3 + 6H2O
Meanwhile, isopropyl alcohol reacted with chromic
acid to produce water, acetone, and chromium(III)
sulfate [Cr2(SO4)3].
H2O

3(CH3)2CHOH + 2CrO3 + 3H2SO4

3CH3CH3CO + Cr2(SO4)3 + 6H2O
In both solutions, the chromium(III) sulfated is what
caused the green color. Meanwhile, tert-butyl did not
have a reaction with chromic acid because of the R
groups surrounding it.
(CH3)3COH+CrO3+H2SO4

No Reaction

Just like with the test on oxidation conditions, tertbutyl did not oxidize due to the R groups surrounding
it which caused steric hindrance and made attacking
the carbon atom more difficult.
Another test is the Lucas test, which was used in
identifying primary alcohols. Among all three
samples, ethanol was the only one that did not react
because ethanol is a primary alcohol and the least
stable of all which means a greater amount of energy
was required in its transition state. Therefore, the
reaction took more time and cannot be observed
during the limited time of experiment.
ZnCl2

CH3CH2OH + HCl

CH3CH2Cl + H2O

The next part tested the relative acidity of phenols

with glacial acetic acid and and ethanol. In the initial
litmus paper test, it was found out that ethanol is the
least acidic of the three and can almost be considered
negligible. In order to compare the remaining two
samples, sodium bicarbonate was added and the final
litmus paper test showed that glacial acetic acid is
stronger than sodium bicarbonate since the solution
remained acidic.
NaHCO3 + CH3COOH

NaCH3COO + H2O +
CO2

On the other hand, the solution of phenol turned

basic, which means phenol is weaker than sodium
bicarbonate.
Ph-OH +NaHCO3

PhO-Na+ + H2CO3

Ultimately, this means that phenol (pKa = 9) is weaker

than glacial acetic acid (pKa = 4.6) but is stronger
than ethanol (pKa = 9.5), an alcohol (Acidity, Basicity
and pKa, n.d.). This can be proven by comparing their
pKa or acid dissociation values. The compound
having the lowest pKa is the most acidic.
The following reaction is that of bromine water and
phenol that yielded hydrogen bromide and 2,4,6tribromophenol, a white compound that is insoluble in
water. The ring electrons of the benzene ring
undergoes electrophilic substitution. This made it
attractive to electrophiles like bromine as observed in
the reaction:

Isopropyl alcohol reacted with Lucas reagent and

formed water and ethyl chloride that caused the
white, immiscible layer. Secondary alcohols are the
second most stable among the three types of alcohols
which makes its reaction the second fastest.
ZnCl2

CH3CH3CHOH + HCl

CH3CH3CHCl + H2O

Tert-butyl reacted with Lucas reagent and formed

water and tert-butyl chloride which caused the white,
immiscible layer in the solution. Tertiary alcohols are
the most stable among the three which makes it the
fastest.
ZnCl2

(CH3)3COH + HCl

(CH3)3CCl + H2O

From the results of Lucas test and chromic acid test,

it can be concluded that ethanol is a primary alcohol,
isopropyl alcohol is a secondary alcohol, and tert-

Figure 12. Reaction of phenols with bromine water (Reactions of

aldehydes, ketones and phenols, 2011).

The reason why water was used in the test since

water will increase the polarity making the overall
reaction rate faster and by increasing the stability of
the reaction intermediate.
The results in the last test had several errors because
the ones that gave out positive results which
contained rich colors of green, pink or violet were
acetic acid, hydroquinone, and salicylic acid.
Theoretically, phenol and resorcinol should be

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included with both turning to violet, while acetic acid

should produce a negative result. This could be
caused by contaminations among the reagents that
might have been poorly prepared or stored for a long
time already. Here are the reactions for the phenols:
For phenol: FeCl3 + 6C6H5OH
+ 3HCl

H3[Fe(C6H5O)6]

For salicylic acid: FeCl3 + 3HOOCC6H4OH

(HOOCC6H4O-)3Fe + 3HCl
For resorcinol: FeCl3 + C6H6O2
FeCl2 + HCl

C6H4O2 +

For hydroquinone:

Figure 13. Hydroquinone reaction with FeCl3 (Redox Reactions,

2009).

Theoretically, reactions of phenols with ferric chloride

result in the OH group by the detection of ferric
chloride in the phenol and the formation of
coordination complexes with iron. They came from
electrophilic substitution of the phenols. These
complexes produce the intense colors in the resulting
solutions. The shade of the color depends on the
structure of the phenol. In the case of acetic acid, an
aliphatic acid, and ethanol, the solutions turn yellow
because of the lack of aromatic ring.
For acetic acid: 3CH3COOH + FeCl3
Fe(CH3COO)3 + 3HCl
For ethyl alcohol: 6C2H5OH + FeCl3
H3[Fe(C5H4OH)6] + 3HCl
IV.

bromine water, and ferric chloride test. In this

experiment, it was noted that a combination of tests
is sometimes needed in identifying unknown types of
compounds.
One source of errors in the experiment was the
reaction of the samples with contaminations. Another
might be from the repetitive use of test tubes and
pipettes in the laboratory. Also, poorly prepared
reagents that might have been stored for a long time
already might have been a factor.
Since some qualitative tests have limitations and
have results that are too general, other more specific
tests are recommended like the iodoform test and
infrared spectroscopy. Iodoform test specifically
identifies secondary methyl alcohol and forms a
yellow precipitate with a positive result. Meanwhile,
interpreting infrared spectroscopy involves the
correlation of absorption bands in the spectrum of an
unknown compound with the known absorption
frequencies for types of bonds (Interpretation of
Infrared Spectra, n.d.). This is sometimes used in
detecting traces of alcohol in the body and relies on
the intensity, shape and position of bonds.
References
Acidity,
Basicity
and
pKa.
[Online],
http://www.columbia.edu/~crg2133/Files/CambridgeI
A/Chemistry/AcidityBasicitykPa.pdf (accessed Nov.
21, 2014).
Alkoxide
definition.
http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryglossary/fl/Al
koxide-Definition.htm (accessed Nov. 18, 2014).
Experiment
6.
[Online],
p
1.
http://myweb.brooklyn.liu.edu/swatson/Site/Laborato
ry_Manuals_files/Exp6.pdf (accessed Nov. 18,
2014).

Conclusion and Recommendation

To conclude, with the use of known compounds in

different tests, the validity of the tests were confirmed,
and with this, the objectives were met. Most of the
predicted changes for both alcohols and phenols
occurred except in some cases wherein unexpected
reactions happened. Qualitative analyses were made
with the aid of the following tests: the use of sodium
metal for the detection of acidic hydrogen in alcohols,
the comparison of oxidizing condition of a compound
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I hereby certify that I have given a substantial
contribution to this report and I did not copy
and/or quote from any resource material unless
being cited as reference. I am make known that
failure to accomplish the second clause would be
grounds for plagiarism and a failing grade for my
final laboratory report.

________ _______________
NICOLAS, ZOPHIA BEATRICE I.

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