What Are Guerbet Alcohols?

Guerbet alcohols, also known as 2-alkyl alcohols, are a class of branched-chain primary alcohols that are produced through the Guerbet reaction. This reaction involves condensing two identical alcohol molecules to form an alcohol with one additional carbon atom in the chain. The additional carbon gives Guerbet Alcohol their branched structure compared to their linear alcohol precursors. Some key properties that distinguish them include higher boiling points, greater viscosity, and improved low-temperature fluidity compared to linear alcohols of similar chain length.

The Guerbet Reaction

The Guerbet reaction was first observed in 1898 by French chemist Marcel Guerbet while investigating condensation reactions between primary alcohols and their alkyl halide derivatives. In a simple Guerbet reaction, two identical straight-chain primary alcohols are dehydratively coupled in the presence of an acid catalyst to form a new branched-chain primary alcohol with an additional -CH2 group.

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