Prefix
Under this nomenclature, a prefix is placed in front of the root names of compounds. Prefix usage is extremely beneficial because it demonstrates the presence of side chains and substituent groups in an organic compound. These prefixes shed light on a compound’s acyclic and cyclic properties.
Primary Prefix
To distinguish between cyclic and acyclic compounds, the main prefix cyclo is used.
Secondary Prefix
Certain characteristic groups are not regarded as functional groups or secondary suffixes in the IUPAC nomenclature system. These are designated by secondary prefixes and are thought of as substituents. Below are a few secondary prefixes.
Substituent Group | Secondary Prefix | Substituent Group | Secondary Prefix |
---|---|---|---|
−F |
Fluoro |
−OH |
Hydroxy |
−NO2 |
Nitro |
−COOH |
Carboxy |
−Cl |
Chloro |
−NH2 |
Amino |
−CH3 |
Methyl |
−CN |
Cyano |
−Br |
Bromo |
−CHO |
Formyl |
–C2H5 |
Ethyl |
−C6H5 |
Phenyl |
−I |
Iodo |
−COCH3 |
Acetyl |
−OCH3 |
Methoxy |
−N(CH3)2 |
Dimethylamino |
−NO |
Nitroso |
−CONH2 |
Amide |
–OC2H5 |
Ethoxy |
−COCl |
Acyl chloride |
IUPAC Nomenclature of Organic Compounds
Organic Compounds are those which have Carbon-Hydrogen or Carbon-Carbon bonds. Chemistry is studied under three branches Organic, Inorganic, and Physical Chemistry with each dealing with different types of topics. For this article, we will focus on Organic Chemistry which is the study of carbon and its various compounds. Carbon compounds have a special catenation property that helps them to make long-chain organic compounds. Thus, there are millions of organic compounds, and naming all of them is tough so we came up with a method of naming these organic compounds which are called as Nomenclature of Organic Compound. Nomenclature of Organic Compound is the common set of rules which helps us name all the organic compounds without remembering the name for any of them, we just have to remember the rules. Let’s learn about these rules for naming organic compounds i.e., nomenclature, in detail.