Alcohols are an extremely important class of organic compounds that contain the hydroxyl (-OH) group. When many people think of alcohol, they primarily think of ethanol, or the alcohol contained in beer and wine. However, there are thousands of unique alcohols, and alcohols are some of the most common and useful compounds in nature and industry. Alcohols can be synthesized by a host of different methods, and are easily converted into other functional groups. For this reason they are often used as intermediates in a larger scale synthesis.
Structure and Classification
Alcohols very closely resemble the structure of water. The only difference is that there is an R group in the place of a water hydrogen. A very important way to classify alcohols is by the carbon that they are bonded to. A primary alcohol is attatched to a primary carbon. A secondary alcohol is attatched to a secondary carbon. A tertiary alcohol is attatched to a tertiary carbon.
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Primary Alcohol
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Secondary Alcohol
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Tertiary Alcohol
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