Naming Aldehydes
(Chemical) Definition of Aldehydes:
Aldehydes are organic chemical compounds that include a -carbonyl group (i.e. an oxygen atom attached to a carbon atom by a double covalent bond) and a hydogen atom attached to the same carbon atom as is attached to the carbonyl group:
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That is, aldehydes are a class or category of organic chemical compounds that include a carbon atom attached to both an oxygen atom (by a double covalent bond), and also a hydrogen atom (by a single covalent bond).
Bearing in mind that carbon atoms form a total 4 single covalent bonds - or equivalent in combinations of double or triple bonds, a carbon atom attached to both an oxygen atom (by a double covalent bond) and a hydrogen atom (by a single covalent bond) can only form one other single covalent bond linking it to the rest of an organic molecule. It must therefore always be the first- or last - (which are equivalent positions) carbon atom in the chain of carbon atoms that form the organic molecule of which it is a part. This position of the -carbonyl group attached to the end- carbon in a carbon-chain is important because it distinguishes aldehydes from a similar category of organic compounds, called ketones.
Aldehyde molecules can vary in size up to very long molecules most of which consist of carbon atoms attached to each other and also to hydrogen atoms. |
Names of Aldehydes in General
Aldehydes are named according to the same system as other organic compounds, with the suffix -al used to designate the presence in the molecule of a carbonyl group (that is, a carbon atom attached to an oxygen atom by via a double covalet bond) and a single hydrogen atom - rather than a second chain of carbon atoms - attached to a carbon atom at the end of a chain of carbon atoms.
The exception to this general rule is, of course, formaldehyde (also known as methanal), because in that case there is only one single carbon atom in the molecule, hence it is only "at the end of a chain of carbon atoms" to the extent than a single carbon atom may be understood as a "chain" of one atom - in comparison with ethanal being based on a chain of 2 carbon atoms, propanal being based on a chain of 3 carbon atoms, butanal being based on the chain of 4 carbon atoms, and so on - see the table of molecular structures below.
The first step to consider when working out the name of an aldehyde molecule is the number of carbon atoms forming a chain. If they are attached together in a linear (i.e. unbranched) configuration then the number of carbon atoms is indicated according to the same system as used for naming alkanes.
However, if the carbon atoms do not form a linear chain but include branches, the longest linear chain of carbon atoms within the molecule determines the base of the name of the compound, onto which is added information about the branches incl. their lengths in terms of the number of carbon atoms in each branch (i.e. methyl- usually indicates a branch consisting of just one carbon atom attached to the main chain, ethyl- indicates a branch of two carbon atoms in length, etc.) and their positions along the longest linear carbon chain (e.g. attached to the 2nd carbon, 3rd carbon, etc.).
The simplest linear aldehydes are named and their structures drawn in the following table.
More complex aldehyde molecules follow afterwards.
Names and Structures of simple Linear Aldehydes
The homologous series of linear aldehydes is shown below.
Number carbons in chain |
Name |
Simple Structure |
Other Names = Synonyns
(*Examples not complete lists) |
and simple formula |
showing bond types but not accurate bond angles |
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1 |
|
 |
- methanal
- methaldehyde
- formaldehyd
- formalin
- formol
- methyl aldehyde
- formic aldehyde, and many others.
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2 |
|
 |
- acetaldehyde
- acetic aldehyde
- ethyl aldehyde
- acetyaldehyde
- acetic ethanol
- ethaldehyde
|
3 |
propanal (C3H6O) |
CH3CH2COH |
|
 |
- n-propanal
- 1-propanal
- propaldehyde
- propyl aldehyde
- propanaldehyde
- propylic aldehyde
- propionic aldehyde
- aldehyde C3
- propional, & many others
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4 |
butanal (C4H8O) |
CH3CH2CH2COH |
|
 |
- n-butanal
- 1-butanal
- butyl aldehyde
- butanaldehyde
- butaldehyde
- butalyde
- butyric aldehyde
- butyral
- aldehyde C4
- and many others
|
5 |
pentanal (C5H10O) |
CH3CH2CH2CH2COH |
|
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- n-pentanal
- valeraldehyde
- n-valeraldehyde
- valeral
- amyaldehyde
- valeric aldehyde
- amyl aldehyde
- pentyl aldehyde
- aldehyde C5
- and many others
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6 |
hexanal (C6H12O) |
CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2COH |
|
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- n-hexanal
- 1-hexanal
- n-hexaldehyde
- hexanaldehyde
- hexaldehyde
- hexyl aldehyde
- aldehyde C6
- n-hexaldehyde
- caproic aldehyde
- caproaldehyde
- capronaldehyde
- and many others
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7 |
heptanal (C7H14O) |
CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2COH |
|
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- n-heptanal
- 1-heptanal
- n-heptaldehyde
- heptanaldehyde
- heptaldehyde
- aldehyde C7
- n-heptylaldehyde
- enanthal
- enanthaldehyde
- oenanthal
- oenanthol
- oenanthaldehyde
- and many others
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8 |
octanal (C8H16O) |
CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2COH |
|
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- n-octanal
- 1-octanal
- octanaldehyde
- n-octaldehyde
- 1-octyl aldehyde
- aldehyde C8
- n-octylaldehyde
- octanoic aldehyde
- caprylic aldehyde
- caprylaldehyde
- and many others
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9 |
nonanal (C9H18O) |
CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2COH |
|
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- n-nonanal
- 1-nonanal
- nonanaldehyde
- n-nonaldehyde
- 1-nonyl aldehyde
- aldehyde C9
- n-nonylaldehyde
- nonylic aldehyde
- nonoic aldehyde
- pelargonic aldehyde
- pelargonaldehyde
- and many others
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10 |
decanal (C10H20O) |
CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2COH |
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|
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- n-decanal
- 1-decanal
- n-decaldehyde
- 1-decyl aldehyde
- aldehyde C10
- n-decylaldehyde
- decylic aldehyde
- caprinic aldehyde
- capric aldehyde
- capraldehyde
- and many others
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Why stop at ten carbon atoms (in the chain) ? It doesn't. There are more similar linear amines, or 1-aminoalkanes. We stopped here due to page width.
Important Note: *The synonyms indicated for compounds listed above are just some examples of alternative names found online and believed to have been used to refer to the substance indicated. They have not all been verified and may include common (non-scientific) names, trade names specific to particular suppliers, and perhaps errors. The purpose of these lists is to give a general indication of the range of names by which amines are known - both generally, and specifically.
Note:
This is one of many pages about types of organic compounds in our Organic Chemistry Section. Similar and related pages describe hydrocarbons, alkanes, haloalkanes, alkenes, alkynes, cycloalkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons (arenes), alcohols, esters, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, acid chlorides, acid anhydrides, azo dyes, amines, amides, nitriles, amino acids (chemistry), peptides, proteins (chemistry), polypeptides and others. If you need further information ask your chemistry tutor.
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