Chemistry:Alkoxy group
In chemistry, the alkoxy group is an alkyl group which is singularly bonded to oxygen; thus R–O. Denoted usually with apostrophe ('). The range of alkoxy groups is vast, the simplest being methoxy (CH
3O–).[1] An ethoxy group (CH
3CH
2O–) is found in the organic compound ethyl phenyl ether (C
6H
5OCH
2CH
3, also known as ethoxybenzene).
Related to alkoxy groups are aryloxy groups, which have an aryl group singularly bonded to oxygen such as the phenoxy group (C
6H
5O–).
An alkoxy or aryloxy group bonded to an alkyl or aryl (R–O–R') is an ether. If bonded to H it is an alcohol.
The term alkoxide refers to the anionic conjugate bases of alcohols (RO−
) or to ionic compounds containing such an anion. Alkoxide compounds are derivatives of alcohols where the hydrogen of the –OH group is replaced by a metal;[2] for example, the sodium salt of ethanol (CH
3CH
2OH) is sodium ethoxide, containing ethoxide anions CH
3CH
2O−
and sodium cations Na+
.
Alkoxides are strong bases and nucleophiles. For example, the pKa of ethanol is 15.9.[3] Certain alkoxy groups may be made less basic by factors like resonance stabilization or the presence of electron-withdrawing groups: for example, the pKa of 4-nitrophenol is 7.15.[4]
References
- ↑ "alkoxy group chemistry - trainingstrategies.co.uk". 2022-03-24. https://www.trainingstrategies.co.uk/xbiy/alkoxy-group-chemistry.html.[|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
- ↑ Wade, Leroy G. (1998-07-20). "ether | chemical compound | Britannica" (in en). https://www.britannica.com/science/ether-chemical-compound.
- ↑ Ballinger, P.; Long, F. A. (26 August 1959). "Acid Ionization Constants of Alcohols. 11. Acidities of Some Substituted Methanols and Related Compounds". Journal of the American Chemical Society 82 (4): 795-798. doi:10.1021/ja01489a008. https://pubs.acs.org/jacsat/article-abstract/82/4/795/518432/Acid-Ionization-Constants-of-Alcohols-II-Acidities?redirectedFrom=fulltext. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
- ↑ Lin, Xiaofeng; Chen, Yiping; Li, Shunxing (4 October 2013). "Spectrophotometric determination of trace p-nitrophenol enriched by 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid-modified nanometer TiO2 in water". Analytical Methods 5 (22): 6480-6485. doi:10.1039/c3ay41467a. https://pubs.rsc.org/ay/article-abstract/5/22/6480/388736/Spectrophotometric-determination-of-trace-p?redirectedFrom=fulltext. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
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