Question

Explain why the boiling point of ether are much lower than those of alcohol of comparable molar masses

Answer 1

Explanation:

There are no intermolecular H-bonds

The boiling point of a substance depends on intermolecular forces. Alcohols have strong intermolecular Hydrogen bonds whereas ethers have weak dipole-dipole interactions, dispersion forces or Vander Wall forces depending upon the number of carbon atoms involved in alkyl group of ether. Thus due to the absence of intermolecular H-bonds in ethers, they have lower boiling points than alcohols.