how ethanol will react with metal
Answers
The terminal -OH bond in the ethanol molecule, CH3CH2OH, is slightly polarised, the H-atom being slightly positive and the O-atom slightly negative. In other words, you can imagine ethanol,CH3CH2OH, as a water molecule, (H2O or HOH), with one of its H-atoms substituted by an alkyl group, CH3CH2- group. Assuming your question refers to the reactions of metals (solids) with ethanol, then it will be quite similar to the reactions of metals with liquid water at room temperature. The more reactive metals (Please refer to the reactivity series of metals) should displace the slightly positively charged H-atom in the water molecule as hydrogen, H2, gas. Remember that H2O molecule is much smaller than CH3CH2OH molecule, but is more polarised than ethanol. For example, sodium metal reacts very vigorously with water at room temperature releasing H2 gas, whereas ethanol does the same thing, but much less vigorously.
ethanol + sodium = sodium ethanoate (salt) + hydrogen (gas).