Alcohol

There are many different types of alcohol. The proper name for alcohol is alkanol. The main functional group of alcohols (alkanols) is the hydroxyl or -OH group. Alcohols differ in the number of carbons atoms in the molecules and with the placement of the -OH group in the molecule.

The most common alcohol is ethanol which is commonly produced by fermentation.

Name of alcohol	Chemical formula of alcohol	Structure of alcohol
methanol	CH₃OH
ethanol	CH₃CH₂OH or C₂H₅OH
propan-1-ol	CH₃CH₂CH₂OH or C₃H₇OH
propan-2-ol	CH₃CH(OH)CH₃