Download Appendix D: Nomenclature of Organic Compounds

Appendix D: Nomenclature of Organic
Compounds
Alkanes
C—C
CnH2n+2
CH4 methane
C2H6 ethane
C3H8 propane
C4H10 butane
C5H12 pentane
(cont. with Greek prefixes)
Alkenes
C==C
CnH2n
C2H4 ethene
C3H6 propene etc.
Alkynes
CC
CnH2n-2
C2H2 ethyne (acetylene)
C3H4 propyne etc.
Nomenclature:
1) find longest continuous chain  name for skeleton
2) branches = alkyl groups (methyl, ethyl, propyl, etc.) or other functional groups
3) position alkyl groups to minimize numbers indicating their position
4) more than one substituent of a kind: di, tri, tetra, penta, etc.
The nature of functional groups is given by using specific pre- and suffixes:
Compound
halides
alcohols
aldehydes
ketones
ethers
acid
esters
amines
amides
Functional group
-F, -Cl, -Br, -I
R-OH
R-CHO
R1-CO-R2
R1-O-R2
R-COOH
R1-COO-R2
R-NH2
R-CO-NH2
Pre-/suffix
“fluoro-“, “chloro-“, “bromo-“, “iodo-“
“-ol”
“-al”
“-one”
“(Rest 1)(Rest 2) ether”
(carbon chain) + “-oic acid”
(Rest 2) (Rest 1) + “oate”
“amino-“
“-amide”