Primary alcohol
A primary alcohol is an alcohol in which the hydroxy group is bonded to a primary carbon atom. It can also be defined as a molecule containing a “–CH2OH” group.
In contrast, a secondary alcohol has a formula “–CHROH” and a tertiary alcohol has a formula “–CR2OH”, where “R” indicates a carbon-containing group.
Examples of primary alcohols include ethanol and butanol.
Some sources include methanol as a primary alcohol, including the 1911 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, but this interpretation is less common in modern texts.
