Alcohols can be thought of as analogs of water, H 2 O, in which one hydrogen atom has been replaced by an alkyl group. See below for further information. Phenols have a similar formula, ROH, but R is an aryl group . Just to confuse matters a little bit, the simplest example of a phenol, C 6 H 5 OH, is named phenol. Sorry, you must enable Javascript and then reload the page for the calculator to work.
Alcohols are generally hygroscopic , meaning that they often contain a fair amount of water.
This can be particularly dangerous if you are working with an alcohol and a water-reactive metal such as sodium or potassium. Alcohols are generally incompatible with acids and other oxidizing agents . Many alcohols are flammable . Some, such as methanol, burn with an almost invisible flame, so be very careful to avoid heat, flame or other ignition sources and make sure you have a proper fire extinguisher on hand. This chemical similarity with water means that alcohols can readily penetrate your skin.