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An introduction to the structure and uses of alcohols

Quick check questions

What does the word saturated tell you about a molecule?
It contains only single covalent bonds between the carbon atoms.
What does the word unsaturated tell you about a compound?
The compound contains at least one carbon-carbon double or triple covalent bond.
What is an homologous series?
A group of compounds with the same functional group and similar chemical properties, all members undergo gradual changes in their physical properties.
What functional group is present in an alcohol?
All alcohols contain the hydroxyl functional group C-O-H or C-OH.

So far you will probably have met two homologous series of organic compounds:

Well you are about to meet another homologous series- the alcohols. In naming the alkanes and alkenes you have met so far you may have noticed that the first part of their names were similar. Well there is a reason for this; the first part of the name will help you in identifying the number of carbon atoms found in an organic compound. So for example; the prefix meth- will tell you the compound contains 1 atom of carbon, while the prefix oct- will tell you the molecule has 8 atoms of carbon.

Naming alcohols

Just as the names of all the alkanes end in the three letters -ane and the names of all alkenes end in -ene, the names of all the alcohols end in -ol. The prefixes you will have used to name alkanes and alkenes are shown in the table below. These prefixes also indicate the number of carbon atoms present in an alcohol molecule:

Prefix meth eth prop but pent hex hept oct non dec
number of carbon atoms 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
alcoholic drinks are made by fermenting the sugars present in grapes.


The table above gives the prefixes used for naming organic compounds with up to nine carbon atoms. Just as all alkenes molecules contain the functional group C=C and all alkanes contain the functional group C-C, well all alcohols contain the hydroxyl functional group C-O-H or C-OH; you may see it written both ways. It is the presence of this hydroxyl group (C-OH) which gives the alcohols their characteristic properties.

The most widely used alcohol is ethanol; this is the alcohol which is used in alcoholic drinks. Ethanol is made in a process called fermentation. Fermentation is a natural process; it is a form of anaerobic respiration where the sugar glucose is turned into the alcohol ethanol and carbon dioxide gas, equations for fermentation are shown below:

glucose(aq) → ethanol(aq) + carbon dioxide(g)
C6H12O6(g) → 2C2H5OH(aq) + 2CO2(g)
The table above can help you name the first ten alcohols. The first alkane was methane to name the first alcohol remove the -e from the end of the alkane methane and replace it with -ol and you have the first alcohol; methanol. Similarly the second alkane was ethane, the second alcohol is ethanol, also propane becomes propanol, butane becomes butanol etc. Ball and stick models of the first four alcohols, methanol, ethanol, propanol and butanol are shown below along with their structural formulae.

The first four alcohols

3d models to show first the structure of methanol, ethanol, propanol and butanol.

The alcohols form a homologous series with the general formula CnH2n+1OH. The displayed formula and the structural formula for the first 5 alcohols are shown below. You should note all alcohols contain the hydroxyl functional group (C-OH) and it is this group which determines how alcohols react with other substances.

Structural formula, molecular formula and displayed formula for the alcohols methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol and pentanol.

Uses of alcohols

The main uses of alcohols are in alcoholic drinks (ethanol only) such as wine, beer and spirits and as a solvent in cosmetics, perfumes and paints. Alcohols are flammable and they make excellent fuels. In the UK the petrol sold at the pumps is a mixture of petrol and up to 10% ethanol, some racing cars even run on a 85:15 % mixture of petrol to ethanol. Perhaps one of the most recent high profile for uses for the alcohol ethanol was as a hand sanitizer in gels and wipes to kill the corona-virus. The montage below summarises these common uses of alcohols.

Montage showing the main uses of alcohols.

Key Points

Practice questions and quick quiz

Check your understanding - Questions on alcohols

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