Small chain alcohols have a warning label indicating that they are flammable, but what is mean by "small"? How many cabon atoms in a carbon chain is considered to be small? Would 1-decanol be considered as small chain alcohol?
Thank you!
Usually small is up to about five carbons in the chain. Butanol definitely. Pentanol usually. Hexanol, perhaps. Heptanol, no.
Alright, thank you!
The rule in most texts is 5-6 carbons in a chain.
When it comes to the term "small" in reference to chain length in alcohols, it generally means alcohols with a relatively low number of carbon atoms in their carbon chain. The specific number of carbon atoms that defines "small" can vary depending on the context, but typically alcohols with 1 to 5 carbon atoms in their chain are considered small.
As for your example of 1-decanol, decanol is actually a 10-carbon alcohol. Since it has a relatively larger chain length compared to smaller alcohols like methanol (1 carbon), ethanol (2 carbons), and propanol (3 carbons), it would not be considered a small chain alcohol. However, it is important to note that even larger chain alcohols like decanol can still possess flammable properties.
To summarize, small chain alcohols generally refer to alcohols with 1 to 5 carbon atoms in their carbon chain, whereas larger chain alcohols have more than 5 carbon atoms.