A primary alcohol is an alcohol in which the hydroxy group is bonded to a primary carbon atom. It can also be defined as a molecule containing a “–CH2OH” group.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Template:Dead link</ref> In contrast, a secondary alcohol has a formula “–CHROH” and a tertiary alcohol has a formula “–CR2OH”, where “R” indicates a carbon-containing group.
Examples of primary alcohols include ethanol, 1-propanol, and 1-butanol.
Methanol is also generally regarded as a primary alcohol,<ref name="titlean introduction to alcohols">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="isbn0-7641-1664-9">Template:Cite book</ref> including by the 1911 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica.<ref name="EB1911">Template:Cite EB1911</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Alcohol (especially Nomenclature section for discussion on Secondary and Tertiary alcohols.)
- Oxidation of primary alcohols to carboxylic acids