ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the structure, nomenclature, and infrared spectra of chemical functional groups containing the carbon oxygen (C-O) single bond, which includes alcohols and ethers. An alcohol is any molecule that contains a C-OH linkage. A saturated alcohol has only saturated carbons attached to the hydroxyl carbon. Ethanol is an example of a saturated alcohol. Saturated alcohols are grouped by the number of saturated carbons attached to the hydroxyl carbon. A phenol is any molecule with an O-H group directly attached to an aromatic ring. The O-H bond of an alcohol is highly polar because of the large electronegativity difference between oxygen and hydrogen. The peak width, intensity, and position of alcohol infrared bands are all affected by the extent of hydrogen bonding in a sample. The term phenol is used to describe any molecule where an O-H group is directly attached to a benzene ring.
