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12.6: Oxygen-Containing Organic Compounds

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    ⚙️ Learning Objectives

    • Classify oxygen-containing organic compounds based on the structure of the functional group that is present. 
    • Identify hydroxyl groups, carbonyl groups, and carboxyl groups within oxygen-containing organic compounds.


    Oxygen-containing organic compounds may be classified based on the structural arrangement of oxygen atoms in relation to the carbon and hydrogen atoms within a molecule. Such structural arrangements often allow oxygen-containing compounds to function in a similar manner chemically and physically from molecule-to-molecule and are called functional groups. Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\) shows three common oxygen-containing functional groups found in organic molecules.

    hydroxyl group hydroxyl group.png
    carbonyl group carbonyl group.png
    carboxyl group carboxyl group.png
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Common oxygen-containing functional groups.


    Classifying Oxygen-Containing Organic Compounds

    The functional groups shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\) are just three of many different functional groups. However, the presence and location of functional groups in organic molecules allows us to lump them together into different classes that function similarly, both chemically and physically. Table \(\PageIndex{1}\) shows the classification of several types of oxygen-containing organic compounds. Though the list is not complete, it provides some perspective as to the wide variety of oxygen-containing organic compounds that are possible.

    Notice the presence of the functional groups shown above in the different families of compounds. The letter R represents an alkyl group (or more generally, a hydrocarbon group). As a reminder, molecular models rendered with JSmol may be manipulated by grabbing the molecules and rotating it to your desired orientation.
     

    Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Classification of Oxygen-Containing Organic Molecules
    Family Structure Example
    alcohol alcohol.png
    aldehyde aldehyde.png
    ketone ketone.png
    carboxylic acid carboxylic acid.png
    ester ester.png
    ether ether.png

     

    ✅ Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)

    Classify each molecule as an alcohol, aldehyde, ketone, carboxylic acid, ether, or ester.

    1. Four carbon chain with an oxygen attached to the end carbon with a double bond. There is also a hydrogen bound to the end carbon.
       
    2. Line structure with three bumps and two ends. There is an oxygen double bound to the second carbon.

       
    4. CH3OH

    Solution

    1. This molecule has an alkyl group that is bonded to a carbon atom that is double bonded to an oxygen atom and single bonded to a hydrogen atom. This gives it a general formula that fits an aldehyde, RCOH.
       
    2. This molecule has an alkyl group attached to each side of a carbonyl group, .  This gives it a general formula that fits a ketone, RCOR.
       
    3. This molecule has an alkyl group attached to each side of an oxygen atom.  This gives it a general formula that fits an ether, ROR.
       
    4. This molecule has an alkyl group attached to a hydroxyl group, -OH.  This gives it a general formula that fits an alcohol, R-OH.

     

    ✏️ Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

    Classify each molecule as an alcohol, aldehyde, ketone, carboxylic acid, ether, or ester.

    1. Four carbon chain with an oxygen bound to the second carbon. A hydrogen is bound to the oxygen.
       
    2. CH3CH2COOCH3
       
    3. CH3OCH2CH2CH2CH3
       
    Answer A
    alcohol
    Answer B
    ester
    Answer C
    ether
    Answer D
    carboxylic acid

       

     

    This page is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licenses and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Lance S. Lund (Anoka-Ramsey Community College). Original source: https://openstax.org/details/books/chemistry-2e.

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    12.6: Oxygen-Containing Organic Compounds is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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