alcohols
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Alcohols are organic compounds that contain a hydroxyl group (–OH) attached to a carbon atom, and they're one of the most fundamental building blocks in chemistry and everyday products. They matter because they appear in everything from beverages and medicines to fuels and industrial chemicals, making them essential to modern life and industry.
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Ball-and-stick model of an alcohol molecule ( R3COH). The red and white balls represent the hydroxyl group (−OH). The three "R"s stand for carbon substituents or hydrogen atoms.
In chemistry, an alcohol (from Arabic al-kuḥl 'the kohl') is a type of organic compound that carries at least one hydroxyl (−OH) functional group bound to a saturated carbon atom. Alcohols range from the simple, like methanol and ethanol, to complex, like sugar alcohols and cholesterol. The presence of an OH group strongly modifies the properties of hydrocarbons, conferring hydrophilic (water-attracted) properties. The OH group provides a site at which many reactions can occur.