Which type of alcohol will generally have a higher boiling point due to stronger intermolecular forces?

The boiling point of alcohols is influenced by the type and strength of intermolecular forces present, particularly hydrogen bonding. Primary alcohols, which have the -OH group attached to a carbon that is connected to only one other carbon atom, typically have stronger intermolecular hydrogen bonding compared to tertiary alcohols.

In primary alcohols, the structure allows for a higher degree of hydrogen bonding because there are fewer bulky alkyl groups nearby that could hinder the interaction between the -OH group of one molecule and the hydrogen atoms of neighboring molecules. This results in stronger overall attractions between molecules, leading to a higher boiling point.

On the other hand, tertiary alcohols have three alkyl groups attached to the carbon with the -OH groups. While they can also participate in hydrogen bonding, the bulky groups create steric hindrance, which reduces the overall strength of the intermolecular forces when compared to primary alcohols. Consequently, tertiary alcohols generally exhibit lower boiling points due to weaker hydrogen bonding.

Secondary alcohols fall somewhere in between primary and tertiary alcohols, but they still do not surpass primary alcohols in boiling point primarily because they have more bulk than primary alcohols that could impede hydrogen bonding.

Quaternary alcohols, which actually do not exist due