Alcohols

 Nomenclature:

The Oxford English Dictionary defines an alcohol as a liquid with a number of properties such as flammability and highly volatile, however chemically the term alcohol refers to a functional group. Alcohol is the IUPAC name for a molecule containing a hydroxyl group. When naming such a molecule, the prefix hydroxyl- or the suffix -ol is used. When using hydroxyl- the number is placed before the prefix to show the position of the hydroxyl group within the molecule. When–ol is used, it is placed before the suffix, interrupting the remainder of the word.

Colloquial Names:

There are a number of alcohols that are used commonly, and so the IUPAC names are not used. Common colloquialisms include wood alcohol, the common name for methanol and menthol, a colloquialism for a longer and far more complicated name that is not necessary for the majority of people (menthol is systematically called 2-(2-propyl)–5–methyl–cyclohexane–1–ol). Alcohol has also become a colloquial name for the simple alcohol ethanol, which is the alcohol commonly found in intoxicating beverages. In a lab, the IUPAC systematic name as always used.

Types of alcohols:

Alcohols can be vaguely defined into two categories – simple alcohols and higher alcohols. Simple alcohols are alcohols with up to four carbon atoms. They typically have few other functional groups, and so include alcohols such as methanol, ethanol and propan-1-ol. 

Higher alcohols are alcohols with four or more carbon atoms. They are often more complex and contain other functional groups or chemical structures such as rings and branches. These include alcohols such as phenol and 3 phenyl-propanol.