Suffix
In IUPAC nomenclature, the suffix comes after the root name and designates the functional group to which it belongs. It is further divided into primary and secondary categories. The root word is followed directly by the main suffix.
Primary Suffix
A main suffix is a suffix that is used to indicate whether the carbon atoms in the parent chain are saturated or unsaturated. Below is the basic primary suffix,
Nature of Carbon Chain |
Primary Suffix |
General Name |
---|---|---|
Saturated (C–C) |
-ane |
Alkane |
Unsaturated, containing one double bond (C=C) |
-ene |
Alkene |
Unsaturated, containing one triple bond (C≡C) |
-yne |
Alkyne |
Secondary Suffix
A secondary suffix is a suffix that is used to indicate the main functional group’s nature in a compound.
Class of Organic Compounds | Functional Group | Secondary Suffix |
---|---|---|
Alcohol |
R-OH |
-ol |
Aldehyde |
R-CHO |
-al |
Amine |
R-NH₂ |
-amine |
Carboxylic Acid |
R-COOH |
-oic acid |
Ester |
R-COOR’ |
-oate |
Ether |
R-O-R’ |
-ether |
Ketone |
R-CO-R’ |
-one |
Alkene |
R₂C=CR₂ |
-ene |
Alkyne |
RC≡CR’ |
-yne |
Halide |
R-X |
-ide |
Amide |
R-CO-NH₂ |
-amide |
Nitrile |
R-CN |
-nitrile |
Thiol |
R-SH |
-thiol |
Sulfonic Acid |
R-SO₃H |
-sulfonic acid |
Sulfide |
R-S-R’ |
-thio |
Peroxide |
R-O-O-R’ |
-peroxide |
Imine |
R-N=CR’ |
-imine |
Isocyanate |
R-N=C=O |
-isocyanate |
Isothiocyanate |
R-N=C=S |
-isothiocyanate |
Alkyl Halide |
R-X |
-yl halide |
Phosphine |
R₃P |
-phosphine |
Sulfate |
R-O-SO₃H |
-sulfate |
Thioester |
R-CO-SR’ |
-thioate |
Thioether |
R-S-R’ |
-thioether |
It is to be noted that when adding a secondary suffix to a primary suffix if the secondary suffix starts with “a,” I “o,” “u,” or “y,” the main suffix’s terminal “e” is dropped.
Organic compounds |
Word root |
Primary suffix |
Secondary suffix |
IUPAC name(Word root + Primary suffix + Secondary suffix) |
---|---|---|---|---|
CH3CH2OH |
Eth |
-ane |
-ol |
Ethanol |
CH3CH2CHO |
Prop |
-ane |
-al |
Propanal |
CH3CH2COOH |
Prop |
-ane |
-oic acid |
Propanoic acid |
CH3CH2CH2NH |
Prop |
-ane |
-amine |
Propanamine |
CH3CH2CN |
Prop |
-ane |
-nitrile |
Propanenitrile |
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.