Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry
Alcohol (
R
OH
):
(1) A
functional group
characterized by the C-O-H
moiety
. In some schools of thought, the carbon must be
sp
3
, and the
sp
2
C-OH and
sp
C-OH
moieties
are not alcohol
functional groups
. The carbon cannot be part of a
carbonyl group
; this is the
carboxylic acid
functional group
.
General alcohol
molecular structure
.
(2) A
molecule
containing the alcohol
functional group
.
Tert
-butanol
, a
tertiary alcohol
.
(3)
Ethanol
.
Ethanol
Related terms:
Primary alcohol
,
secondary alcohol
,
phenol
,
enol
,
hemiacetal
,
hydroxyl group
,
R group
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