The boiling point of ethanol is higher in comparison to methoxymethane. why
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The boiling point of ethanol is higher than that of methoxymethane primarily because of the difference in intermolecular forces between the two substances.
Ethanol (C2H5OH) is a polar molecule with an -OH (hydroxyl) group. This functional group allows ethanol to form hydrogen bonds with other ethanol molecules. Hydrogen bonding is a strong type of dipole-dipole interaction that occurs when a hydrogen atom is bonded to a highly electronegative atom like oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine. The hydrogen bond in ethanol significantly increases the energy required to separate the molecules, thus raising the boiling point.
Methoxymethane (CH3OCH3), also known as dimethyl ether, has an -O- (ether) functional group. While methoxymethane is polar and can form dipole-dipole interactions, it does not have the hydrogen bonding capability found in ethanol. The oxygen atom in the ether group is bonded to two methyl groups (-CH3), which are nonpolar. This reduces the overall polarity of methoxymethane compared to ethanol, and consequently, it cannot form hydrogen bonds. Without these additional intermolecular forces, the molecules of methoxymethane are less tightly held together, and it requires less energy to overcome these interactions during boiling.
The lower boiling point of methoxymethane compared to ethanol is therefore a direct result of the presence of hydrogen bonds in ethanol, which require more energy to break, as opposed to the weaker dipole-dipole interactions in methoxymethane. This difference in intermolecular forces explains why ethanol boils at a higher temperature than methoxymethane, despite both being organic compounds with similar molecular weights.
