A geminal diol (or gem-diol for short) is any organic compound having two hydroxyl functional groups (-O H) bound to the same carbon atom. Geminal diols are a subclass of the diols, which in turn are a special class of alcohols. Most of the geminal diols are considered unstable.
The simplest geminal diol is methanediol CH
4O
2 or H
2C(OH)
2. Other examples are:
Geminal diols can be viewed as ketone (or aldehyde) hydrates. The two hydroxyl groups in a geminal diol are easily converted to a carbonyl or keto group C=O by loss of one water molecule. Conversely, a keto group can combine with water to form the geminal hydroxyl groups.
The equilibrium in water solution may be shifted towards either compound. For example, the equilibrium constant for the conversion of acetone (H
3C)
2C=O to propane-2,2-diol (H
3C)
2C(OH)
2 is about 10−3, [1] while that of formaldehyde H
2C=O to methanediol H
2C(OH)
2 is 103. [2]
For conversion of hexafluoroacetone (F
3C)
2C=O to the diol (F
3C)
2C(OH)
2, the constant is about 10+6, due to the electron withdrawing effect of the trifluoromethyl groups. Similarly, the conversion of chloral (Cl
3C)HC=O to chloral hydrate is strongly favored by influence of the trichloromethyl group.
In some cases, such as decahydroxycyclopentane and dodecahydroxycyclohexane, the geminal diol is stable while the corresponding ketone is not.
Geminal diols can also be viewed as extreme cases of hemiacetals, formed by reaction of carbonyl compounds with water, instead of with an alcohol.
In chemistry, an alcohol, is a type of organic compound that carries at least one hydroxyl functional group bound to a saturated carbon atom. Alcohols range from the simple, like methanol and ethanol, to complex, like sugars and cholesterol. The presence of an OH group strongly modifies the properties of hydrocarbons, conferring hydrophilic (water-loving) properties. The OH group provides a site at which many reactions can occur.
In organic chemistry, a carboxylic acid is an organic acid that contains a carboxyl group attached to an R-group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is often written as R−COOH or R−CO2H, sometimes as R−C(O)OH with R referring to an organyl group, or hydrogen, or other groups. Carboxylic acids occur widely. Important examples include the amino acids and fatty acids. Deprotonation of a carboxylic acid gives a carboxylate anion.
In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group of that acid is replaced by an organyl group. These compounds contain a distinctive functional group. Analogues derived from oxygen replaced by other chalcogens belong to the ester category as well. According to some authors, organyl derivatives of acidic hydrogen of other acids are esters as well, but not according to the IUPAC.
In organic chemistry, a ketone is an organic compound with the structure R−C(=O)−R', where R and R' can be a variety of carbon-containing substituents. Ketones contain a carbonyl group −C(=O)−. The simplest ketone is acetone, with the formula (CH3)2CO. Many ketones are of great importance in biology and industry. Examples include many sugars (ketoses), many steroids, and the solvent acetone.
In organic chemistry, an aldehyde is an organic compound containing a functional group with the structure R−CH=O. The functional group itself can be referred to as an aldehyde but can also be classified as a formyl group. Aldehydes are a common motif in many chemicals important in technology and biology.
In organic chemistry, a hemiacetal is a functional group the general formula R1R2C(OH)OR, where R1, R2 is a hydrogen atom or an organic substituent. They generally result from the nucleophilic addition of an alcohol to an aldehyde or a ketone under acidic conditions. The addition of an alcohol to a ketone is more commonly referred to as a hemiketal. Common examples of hemiacetals include cyclic monosaccharides. Hemiacetals have use as a protecting group and in synthesizing oxygenated heterocycles like tetrahydrofurans.
In organic chemistry, an acetal is a functional group with the connectivity R2C(OR')2. Here, the R groups can be organic fragments or hydrogen, while the R' groups must be organic fragments not hydrogen. The two R' groups can be equivalent to each other or not. Acetals are formed from and convertible to aldehydes or ketones and have the same oxidation state at the central carbon, but have substantially different chemical stability and reactivity as compared to the analogous carbonyl compounds. The central carbon atom has four bonds to it, and is therefore saturated and has tetrahedral geometry.
In chemistry, a hydration reaction is a chemical reaction in which a substance combines with water. In organic chemistry, water is added to an unsaturated substrate, which is usually an alkene or an alkyne. This type of reaction is employed industrially to produce ethanol, isopropanol, and butan-2-ol.
Hydroboration–oxidation reaction is a two-step hydration reaction that converts an alkene into an alcohol. The process results in the syn addition of a hydrogen and a hydroxyl group where the double bond had been. Hydroboration–oxidation is an anti-Markovnikov reaction, with the hydroxyl group attaching to the less-substituted carbon. The reaction thus provides a more stereospecific and complementary regiochemical alternative to other hydration reactions such as acid-catalyzed addition and the oxymercuration–reduction process. The reaction was first reported by Herbert C. Brown in the late 1950s and it was recognized in his receiving the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1979.
In organic chemistry, a dicarbonyl is a molecule containing two carbonyl groups. Although this term could refer to any organic compound containing two carbonyl groups, it is used more specifically to describe molecules in which both carbonyls are in close enough proximity that their reactivity is changed, such as 1,2-, 1,3-, and 1,4-dicarbonyls. Their properties often differ from those of monocarbonyls, and so they are usually considered functional groups of their own. These compounds can have symmetrical or unsymmetrical substituents on each carbonyl, and may also be functionally symmetrical or unsymmetrical.
A diol is a chemical compound containing two hydroxyl groups. An aliphatic diol may also be called a glycol. This pairing of functional groups is pervasive, and many subcategories have been identified. They are used as protecting groups of carbonyl groups, making them essential in synthesis of organic chemistry.
In carbohydrate chemistry, a pair of anomers is a pair of near-identical stereoisomers or diastereomers that differ at only the anomeric carbon, the carbon atom that bears the aldehyde or ketone functional group in the sugar's open-chain form. However, in order for anomers to exist, the sugar must be in its cyclic form, since in open-chain form, the anomeric carbon atom is planar and thus achiral. More formally stated, then, an anomer is an epimer at the hemiacetal/hemiketal carbon atom in a cyclic saccharide. Anomerization is the process of conversion of one anomer to the other. As is typical for stereoisomeric compounds, different anomers have different physical properties, melting points and specific rotations.
In organic chemistry, enols are a type of functional group or intermediate in organic chemistry containing a group with the formula C=C(OH). The term enol is an abbreviation of alkenol, a portmanteau deriving from "-ene"/"alkene" and the "-ol". Many kinds of enols are known.
A tetrahedral intermediate is a reaction intermediate in which the bond arrangement around an initially double-bonded carbon atom has been transformed from trigonal to tetrahedral. Tetrahedral intermediates result from nucleophilic addition to a carbonyl group. The stability of tetrahedral intermediate depends on the ability of the groups attached to the new tetrahedral carbon atom to leave with the negative charge. Tetrahedral intermediates are very significant in organic syntheses and biological systems as a key intermediate in esterification, transesterification, ester hydrolysis, formation and hydrolysis of amides and peptides, hydride reductions, and other chemical reactions.
In organic chemistry, a hemiaminal is a functional group or type of chemical compound that has a hydroxyl group and an amine attached to the same carbon atom: −C(OH)(NR2)−. R can be hydrogen or an alkyl group. Hemiaminals are intermediates in imine formation from an amine and a carbonyl by alkylimino-de-oxo-bisubstitution. Hemiaminals can be viewed as a blend of aminals and geminal diol. They are a special case of amino alcohols.
Hexafluoroacetone (HFA) is a chemical compound with the formula (CF3)2CO. It is structurally similar to acetone; however, its reactivity is markedly different. It is a colourless, hygroscopic, nonflammable, highly reactive gas characterized by a musty odour. According to electron diffraction, HFA and acetone adopt very similar structures, the C-O distance being only longer in the fluorinated compound (124.6 vs 121.0 pm), possibly due to steric effects.
Cyclopropanone is an organic compound with molecular formula (CH2)2CO consisting of a cyclopropane carbon framework with a ketone functional group. The parent compound is labile, being highly sensitive toward even weak nucleophiles. Surrogates of cyclopropanone include the ketals.
Methanediol, also known as formaldehyde monohydrate or methylene glycol, is an organic compound with chemical formula CH2(OH)2. It is the simplest geminal diol. In aqueous solutions it coexists with oligomers. The compound is closely related and convertible to the industrially significant derivatives paraformaldehyde, formaldehyde, and 1,3,5-trioxane.
In organic chemistry, a lactol is a functional group which is the cyclic equivalent of a hemiacetal or a hemiketal . The compound is formed by the intramolecular, nucleophilic addition of a hydroxyl group to the carbonyl group of an aldehyde or a ketone.
In organic chemistry, alkynylation is an addition reaction in which a terminal alkyne is added to a carbonyl group to form an α-alkynyl alcohol.