alcohols can act as weak base as well as weak acid . How?
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Alcohol is amphoteric in nature i.e. it can acts as an acid as well as a base.
Alcohol acts as a base as it can accept H+from mineral acids as well as water. Also, due to the presence of highly electronegative O atom, the bond between O-H is weak as the electron pair is attracted more by O and therefore, the H+ ion can be donated easily thereby making alcohol an acid. However, it acts as a weak acid due to the presence of strong conjugate base RO-. Stronger the conjugate base, weaker is the acid.
ROH + H3O+ → RO+H2 + H2OBaseROH + H2O → RO− + H3O+Acid
Alcohol acts as a base as it can accept H+from mineral acids as well as water. Also, due to the presence of highly electronegative O atom, the bond between O-H is weak as the electron pair is attracted more by O and therefore, the H+ ion can be donated easily thereby making alcohol an acid. However, it acts as a weak acid due to the presence of strong conjugate base RO-. Stronger the conjugate base, weaker is the acid.
ROH + H3O+ → RO+H2 + H2OBaseROH + H2O → RO− + H3O+Acid
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