Answer to Question #62553 in Chemistry for Scout

Question

The molecular mass of butanol, C4H9OH, is 74.14; that of ethylene glycol, CH2(OH)CH2OH, is 62.08, yet their boiling points are 117.2 °C and 174 °C, respectively. Explain the reason for the difference.

Answer 1

The huge difference in their boiling points is caused by the intermolecular interaction for these
molecules. The presence of two OH – groups in ethylene glycol provides formation of larger number of
hydrogen bonds between molecules than for butanol with only one hydroxyl group. This leads to
increase in boiling point, since the compound need more energy to break all of intermolecular bonds.