Question:
What is meant by the term average bond enthalpy? Why is there a difference in bond enthalpy of O—H bond in ethanol (C2H5OH) and water?
Solution:
Similar bonds in a molecule do not have the same bond enthalpies. Mainly the term average bond enthalpy is used in polyatomic molecules. It is obtained by dividing
bond dissociation enthalpy by the number of bonds broken. The bond enthalpy of OH bond is different in ethanol and water because of the difference in
electronegativity of hydrogen and carbon. As electronegativity differs in hydrogen and oxygen is higher than that in carbon and oxygen, so the O-H bond in water has
more bond enthalpy than in ethanol.