How can you synthesize primary alcohol?

An aqueous solution of sodium or potassium hydroxide and an alkyl halide react via the S_N2 mechanism to form an alkali metal salt solution and a primary alcohol, respectively. This is the first method of forming a primary alcohol.

Another way is to use a carbanion source to react with a methanal carbonyl group, which then undergoes a nucleophilic attack at the carbonyl carbon of methanal formed by protonation during work up to form a primary alcohol. Alternatively, ethylene oxide can react with a carbanion from an alkyllithium or Grignard reagent; both of these reactions are examples of nucleophilic attack by carbanions. The first method involves hydrolyzing alkyl halides; this is done by nucleophilic substitution using the lone pair on a hydroxide anion in an aquarius solution.

Primary alcohols can be synthesized by the reduction of aldehydes or the Grignard reaction with formaldehyde.