Difference Between Ether and Ketone

The key difference between ether and ketone is that an ether contains two alkyl groups bonded to the same oxygen atom whereas a ketone contains an oxygen atom bonded to a carbon atom via a double bond. 

Ethers and ketones are organic compounds. Both these compounds have C,H and O atoms in their molecular structure. However, by determining their functional groups, one can differentiate an ether from a ketone.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Ether
3. What is Ketone
4. Side by Side Comparison – Ether vs Ketone in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Ether?

An ether is an organic compound having the chemical formula R-O-R. Here, the R groups can be either alkyl groups or aryl groups. If the alkyl or aryl groups are identical on both sides of the oxygen atoms, then it is a symmetrical ether. If they are different, then it is an unsymmetrical ether.

The C-O-C chemical bond that has a 110° bond angle decides the characteristics of an ether. Therefore, it acts as the functional group. The hybridization of each carbon of this functional group is sp³.

Since the oxygen atom is more electronegative than the carbon atom, the alpha hydrogen of an ether is highly acidic in comparison to a hydrocarbon. That means, the hydrogen atom bonded to the carbon atom and is adjacent to the C-O-C bond releases easily in the from of a proton. However, it is less acidic than that of carbonyl compounds such as ketones.

Ethers cannot form hydrogen bonds with each other. This results in lower boiling points because there are no strong interaction forces between its molecules. However, they can form hydrogen bonds with water molecules because there are lone electron pairs on the oxygen atom. And also ethers are slightly polar because of the bond angle of the C-O-C bond.

What is Ketone?

A ketone is an organic molecule having the chemical formula R-C-(=O)R. Here, the bonding between the oxygen atom and the carbon atom is a double bond. The R groups indicate the alkyl or aryl groups. The central carbon atom along with the double bonded oxygen atom forms the carbonyl group. This carbon atom is sp² hybridized.

Further, the -C=O bond here is highly polar. Therefore, the ketones are polar molecules. The oxygen atom attracts the bond electrons between this C and O bond due to its high electronegativity. Then the carbon atom gets a partial positive charge due to lack of electrons. And the oxygen atom gets a partial negative charge. Therefore, this oxygen atom causes the formation of hydrogen bonds between ketones and water molecules. Thus, ketones are miscible with water.

In addition to that, the carbon atom of the carbonyl group is susceptible to attacks from nucleophiles. A nucleophile is a compound rich with electrons. Since the carbon atom of the carbonyl group is partially positive charged, the nucleophile can interact with the carbon atom. Therefore, ketones undergo nucleophilic addition reactions.

What is the Difference Between Ether and Ketone?

Summary – Ether vs Ketone

Ethers and ketones are organic molecules. Both these molecules contain C, H and O atoms. The difference between ether and ketone is that an ether contains two alkyl groups bonded to the same oxygen atom whereas a ketone contains an oxygen atom bonded to a carbon atom via a double bond.

Reference:

1. “Ether.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Apr. 2018. Available here  
2. “Ketone.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Apr. 2018. Available here 

Image Courtesy:

1.’Ether-(general)’By No machine-readable author provided. (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2.’Ketone-group-2D-skeletal’ (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia