Alcohols

Alcohols are any substance with an hydroxyl group attached. As indicated below.

Figure 10

Alcohols are named by dropping the -e on the name of the alkyl group and replacing it with -ol.

Figure 11


Physical Properties of Alcohols

The hydroxyl group is highly polar. But most important is the ability to create hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl groups. This makes alcohols highly capable of breaking down certain substances.