[Impulse]

So I got Glycerol and 1-Propanol and I need to predict wether glycerol will have a higher boiling point than the propanol using intermolecular forces as an explanation.

I know that the OH group of an alcohol raises the BP of its parent alkane chain by quite a bit, so I'm guessing that Glycerol (having 3 OH groups) will probably have the highest BP since 1-propanol only has one. I just don't know how to explain WHY this is. Is it because the hydroxyl groups form hydrogen bonds with eachother and form a stronger lattice (taking more engergy to break)? I'm completely clueless

Any help appreciated,



Tom.

[macman104]

You're pretty much dead on.  The increased OH groups means increased hydrogen bonding, which means higher boiling point.