Primary alcohol

A primary alcohol is an alcohol which has the hydroxyl radical connected to a primary carbon. It can also be defined as a molecule containing a “–CH2OH” group.[1]

Examples include ethanol and butanol.

Some sources include methanol as a primary alcohol,[2][3] including the 1911 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica,[4] but this interpretation is less common in modern texts.

See also

The hydroxy group attached to the primary carbon in any primary alcohol is also attached to only one other carbon atom unless it is methanol which is a single carbon molecule bonded to a hydroxy group.

References

  1. ^ "Definition: primary alcohol from Online Medical Dictionary". http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?primary+alcohol. Retrieved 2007-11-22. 
  2. ^ "an introduction to alcohols". http://www.chemguide.co.uk/organicprops/alcohols/background.html. Retrieved 2007-11-22. 
  3. ^ Albert S. Tarendash (2001). Let's review: chemistry, the physical setting. Boston, Mass: Barron's. p. 161. ISBN 0-7641-1664-9. 
  4. ^ "Alcohols - LoveToKnow 1911". http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Alcohols. Retrieved 2007-11-22. 
(0°)
Primary alcohols (1°)
Secondary alcohols (2°)
Tertiary alcohols (3°)
biochemical families: prot · nucl · carb (glpr, alco, glys) · lipd (fata/i, phld, strd, gllp, eico) · amac/i · ncbs/i · ttpy/i