When a secondary alcohol is slightly oxidized, it forms a compound having the
functional group , and called a ketone. The R^1 indicates that this group
need not be the same
as R. An example is:
Example in a longer chain:
In the IUPAC method the name of the ketone has the ending -one with a digit
indicating the carbon that has the double-bonded oxygen preceding the ending in
larger chains, as shown in butan-2-one. Another method of designating a ketone is
to name the radicals on either side of the ketone structure and use the word
ketone. In the preceding reaction, the product would be dimethyl ketone.
Note that both aldehydes and ketones contain the carbonyl group in their
structures. In the aldehydes, it is at the end of the chain, and, in acids, it is the
interior of the chain.
TIP
The functional group of ethers is R–O–R^1Ethers
When a primary alcohol, such as ethanol, is dehydrated with sulfuric acid, an
ether forms. The functional group is R—O—R^1 , in which R^1 may be the same
hydrocarbon group, as shown in example 1 below, or a different hydrocarbon
group, as shown in example 2.
1.