A primary alcohol is an
alcohol in which the
hydroxy group is bonded to a
primary carbon
A primary carbon is a carbon atom which is bound to only one other carbon atom. It is thus at the end of a carbon chain. In case of an alkane, three hydrogen atoms are bound to a primary carbon (see propane in the figure on the right). A hydrogen ...
atom. It can also be defined as a molecule containing a “–CH
2OH” group.
[ ]
In contrast, a secondary alcohol has a formula “–CHROH” and a tertiary alcohol has a formula “–CR
2OH”, where “R” indicates a carbon-containing group.
Examples of primary alcohols include
ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...
and
1-butanol
1-Butanol, also known as butan-1-ol or ''n''-butanol, is a primary alcohol with the chemical formula C4H9OH and a linear structure. Isomers of 1-butanol are isobutanol, butan-2-ol and ''tert''-butanol. The unmodified term butanol usually refers ...
.
Methanol is also generally regarded as a primary alcohol,
including the 1911 edition of the
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
,.
See also
*
Alcohol (especially Nomenclature section for discussion on Secondary and Tertiary alcohols.)
*
Oxidation of primary alcohols to carboxylic acids
The oxidation of primary alcohols to carboxylic acids is an important oxidation reaction in organic chemistry.
When a primary alcohol is converted to a carboxylic acid, the terminal carbon atom increases its oxidation state by four. Oxidants able ...
References
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