Hi.

As I know nothing in the subject, am asking if isopropyl is inorganic, and which other alcohols are produced from inorganic chemicals not derived from petroleum.

Thanks,

Miguel

There is no such thing as an inorganic alcohol. Alcohols are hydrocarbon based molecules with a single -OH functional group. Isopropanol is an organic compound. It's formula is H3C-CH(-OH)-CH3. For a compound to be an 'inorganic alcohol', it would have to be a non hydrocarbon base chain with an OH group. Those are known as bases. (NaOH, KOH, Ba(OH)2, etc.)

For a compound to be an 'inorganic alcohol', it would have to be a non hydrocarbon base chain with an OH group. Those are known as bases. (NaOH, KOH, Ba(OH)2, etc.)

Not only bases, also a lot of acids, such as SO2(OH)2, PO(OH)3, HPO(OH)2 (sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid and phosphorus acid).

 

As a rule of thumb, inorganic compounds of the form X(OH)n or XOm(OH)n are basic if X is in a low oxidation state (1, 2 and sometimes 3), amphoteric if X has an intermediate oxidation state (4, 3, sometimes 2) and acidic if X has a high oxidation state (>= 4).

 

There is also NH2OH, which is slightly basic, but not because of its OH group, but in a similar way as NH3 is basic, by accepting a proton, forming NH3OH(+).

So sulfuric acid has the structure

 

H-O-O-S-O-O-H ?

No, sulfuric acid has structure O2S(OH)2, so all four oxygens directly bonded to the S. Two oxygens have a H atom attached. There is no H atom attached to the S.

 

The oxygens, bonded to the S, without the H on them, have a double bond, all other bonds are single.

So sulfuric acid has the structure

 

H-O-O-S-O-O-H ?

 

 

just a clue there would be "peroxo" in the name if there are any O-O bondings.

ah ok. I wondered what that meant. thanks.

ah ok. I wondered what that meant. thanks.

An example of such a peroxo acid is Caro's acid and peroxodisulfuruc acid:

 

Caro's acid: O2S(OH)(OOH), H2SO5

Peroxosulfuric acid: O2(OH)SOOSO2(OH), H2S2O8

The closest thing I can think of would be other Group IV -OH compounds. "Silanols" contain the moiety Si-OH, and are often found as functional groups on organic compounds. They actually make great precursors to silicones, that is, polymers with the [si-O-Si-O]... linkage. Germanols also exist but are highly labile and a very pH sensitive. Lead can form hydroxo complexes but some of them have fleeting stability as OH^- is a fairly hard base and Pb ions are fairly acids.