A primary alcohol is an alcohol which has the hydroxyl radical connected to a primary carbon. It can also be defined as a molecule containing a “–CH₂OH” group.^[1]

Examples include ethanol and butanol.

Some sources include methanol as a primary alcohol,^[2][3] including the 1911 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica,^[4] but this interpretation is less common in modern texts.

[edit] See also

• Oxidation of primary alcohols to carboxylic acids

The hydroxy group attached to the primary carbon in any primary alcohol is also attached to only one other carbon atom unless it is methanol which is a single carbon molecule bonded to a hydroxy group.

[edit] References

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v • d • e Alcohols (0°) Methanol Primary alcohols (1°) Ethanol · Propan-1-ol · Butanol/Isobutanol · 1-Pentanol · 1-Hexanol · 1-Heptanol Fatty alcohol: Octanol (C8) · 1-Nonanol (C9) · 1-Decanol (C10) · Undecanol (C11) · Dodecanol (C12) · 1-Tetradecanol (C14) · Cetyl alcohol (C16) · Stearyl alcohol (C18) · Arachidyl alcohol (C20) · Docosanol (C22) · Octanosol (C28) · Triacontanol (C30) Policosanol Secondary alcohols (2°) Isopropyl alcohol · 2-Butanol · 2-Hexanol · Cyclohexanol Tertiary alcohols (3°) tert-Butanol · 2-Methyl-2-butanol