Chemical formula of alcohol
The one and only alcohol (and its chemical formula) does not actually exist, because the well-known drinking alcohol ethanol belongs to a larger chemical class of substances, the alcohols.
What you need:
- some basic knowledge of "organic chemistry"
Alcohols in chemistry
Even if the vernacular suggests: there is at least one alcohol in the chemistry not, but under the term "alcohols" one can find a whole class of substances in organic chemistry.
- The alcohols can be derived from the alkanes, and in their chemical formula at least one H atom is exchanged for a hydroxyl group -OH. This group of atoms, which determines the properties of the molecule (in this case the alcohols), is also called the functional group. Accordingly, this (or more) hydroxal group is the characteristic of every alcohol molecule.
- As a sum formula or The chemical formula results for alcohols whose molecules have only one hydroxal group -OH: CnH2n-1OH. Use natural for the index "n" Counting a.
By the way: According to the IUPAC nomenclature, these alcohols are actually referred to as alkanols.
Chemical formulas of known alcohols
For example, from the above formula for n = 1, you can obtain the known methanol with the formula CH3-OH. Incidentally, the name is derived from the associated one Names of the alkane.
Ethaniol and methanol, there are not only chemical differences. How from ...
- The well-known drinking alcohol, called ethanol, has the formula C.2H5-OH.
- By constantly appending a CH2-Group then result in propanol, butanol, pentanol etc. Here, too, their naming strictly follows the alkane series.
By the way: In addition to these "simple" alcohols, there are also so-called. polyhydric alcohols. Their molecules have several hydroxal groups. They are also known as polyols. By the way, this group also includes glycol (chemically Ethanedioal C2H4(OH)2 with two OH groups and glycerine (propanetriol C3H5(OH)3 with three functional OH groups).
How helpful do you find this article?
