Nomenclature of Compounds with Several Functional Groups

Most of the compounds that you have encountered in this text so far have been fairly simple. In addition to any carbon-carbon double or triple bonds, they have contained only one functional group and could be named by using suffixes such as -ynol or -dienone. However, for a compound that contains more than one heteroatom functional group, only one of these functional groups can be designated in the suffix. For example, consider the following compound, which has both alcohol and ketone functional groups  

Note that the ether, halogen, and —N02 groups are always denoted by prefixes in systematic nomenclature. 

3-Cyano-6-hydroxy-4-heptenal (The aldehyde is the highest-priority functional group, so the OH and the CN must be denoted by their group prefixes.) 

3-Amino-4-nitroben/oic acid (The acid group has the highest priority.) 

As you can see, organic nomenclature is a complex subject. Many of the rules and examples are beyond the scope of this book. You should not expect to be able to name every compound that you might encounter. However, based on the rules and examples given here and in Chapter 5, your knowledge of nomenclature should be sufficient to allow you to read and discuss organic chemistry. 

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NOMENCLATURE OF COMPOUNDS WITH SEVERAL FUNCTIONAL GROUPS... 

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