Question: what is the main structural difference between an alcohol or phenol and an ether?
Answer: – in alcohols, a hydroxyl group is connected to a carbon atom. – in phenols, —OH is connected to a benzene ring. (The “parent” molecule of this class is also named phenol: PhOH or C6H5OH.) When two carbon groups are connected by single bonds to an oxygen, this is classified as the ether functional group.