Chapter: Carbon Compounds· Science & Technology Part 1
Four functional groups with oxygen as the heteroatom: alcohol, aldehyde, ketone and carboxylic acid.
| Functional group | Example | Structural formula |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol, \(\mathrm{-OH}\) | Ethanol | \(\mathrm{CH_3{-}CH_2{-}OH}\) |
| Aldehyde, \(\mathrm{-CHO}\) | Ethanal | \(\mathrm{CH_3{-}CHO}\) |
| Ketone, \(\mathrm{>C{=}O}\) | Propanone (acetone) | \(\mathrm{CH_3{-}CO{-}CH_3}\) |
| Carboxylic acid, \(\mathrm{-COOH}\) | Ethanoic acid | \(\mathrm{CH_3{-}COOH}\) |
Other oxygen-containing groups you may also write are ether \(\mathrm{-O-}\) (e.g. methoxymethane, \(\mathrm{CH_3{-}O{-}CH_3}\)) and ester \(\mathrm{-COOR}\) (e.g. ethyl ethanoate, \(\mathrm{CH_3COOC_2H_5}\)).