Properties of Alcohols and Phenols:
The alcohol functional group (R3C-OH) has similar geometry as water, with a C-O-H bond angle of almost 109?. Both of the carbon and the oxygen are sp3 hybridized. The existence of the O-H group means that intermolecular hydrogen bonding is probable that accounts for the higher boiling points of alcohols as compared with alkanes of identical molecular weight. Hydrogen bonding as well means that alcohols are much more soluble in protic solvents as compared to alkanes of identical molecular weight. Actually, the smaller alcohols (methanol, ethanol, propanol, and tert-butanol) are totally miscible in water. Along with larger alcohols, the hydrophobic character of the bigger alkyl chain takes priority over the polar alcohol group and thus larger alcohols are insoluble in water.