1.3 Systemic Naming of Molecules with Functional Groups

a. Extending Beyond Hydrocarbons

This, far, we have developed a complete framework for naming hydrocarbons, where the parent structure and substituents are composed only of carbon and hydrogen. We identified parent chains, assigned locants, named substituents, and assembled complete IUPAC names using consistent formatting rules.

We now extend this framework to molecules that contain the functional groups we have discussed in Section 1.2.2. Functional groups influence the chemical and physical properties of the molecule and play a central role in how the molecule is named. Presence of a functional group can affect – the suffix of the parent name, the selection of the parent structure, and the numbering of the carbon chain.

To systematically incorporate functional groups into IUPAC names, it is useful to classify them based on how they appear in the name.