Polyhydric alcohols retain the ‘e’ of the alkane and add the suffix ‘ol,’ with the number of -OH groups indicated by multiplicative prefixes. For cyclic alcohols, the prefix “cyclo” is used, and the —OH group is considered attached to C–1 in the ring.
How are polyhydric alcohols named according to IUPAC, and what is the naming convention for cyclic alcohols?
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Polyhydric alcohols, which have more than one hydroxyl (-OH) group, are named by specifying the parent hydrocarbon chain and indicating the number of hydroxyl groups. The “-ol” suffix is used, and numerical prefixes indicate the quantity of hydroxyl groups. For example, the IUPAC name for glycerol, a triol, is 1,2,3-propanetriol. In cyclic alcohols, the ring is designated as the parent structure, and the hydroxyl group’s position is indicated by the lowest possible number. For instance, cyclohexanol is the IUPAC name for a six-membered ring with an attached hydroxyl group on one of the carbons.