What is the boiling point of tertiary butanol?

Tertiary butanol, also known as tert-butanol or t-butanol, has a boiling point of approximately 82.8°C. This value is significant in the context of organic chemistry and industrial applications, as it defines the temperature at which the substance transitions from a liquid to a gas under normal atmospheric pressure.

The relatively low boiling point of tertiary butanol compared to other alcohols can be attributed to its molecular structure. Tertiary butanol has a bulky tertiary carbon atom, which affects its intermolecular interactions, particularly hydrogen bonding. While it can indeed form hydrogen bonds due to the presence of a hydroxyl group (-OH), the steric hindrance caused by its three methyl groups limits the extent and strength of these hydrogen bonds compared to primary and secondary alcohols.

Understanding the boiling point allows chemists to predict behavior in various reactions, such as distillation processes, solvent use, and temperature stability of the compound. This knowledge is essential not only for laboratory practices but also for industrial applications where this alcohol is utilized, for instance, as a solvent in chemical syntheses and in the production of plastics and gasoline additives.