Return to Contents  Chapter 20: Carboxylic Acid Derivatives. Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution  Ch 20 contents

Nomenclature of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives

The table reviews the functional group nomenclature of the carboxylic acid derivatives and shows the simple structural representation and a JSMOL 3D model. It's a good idea to make sure you can recognise each of these functional groups.

Acyl Chlorides
Functional group suffix = oyl chloride (review)
Anhydrides
Functional group suffix = alkanoic anhydride (review)
Thioesters
Functional group suffix = alkyl -thioate
Functional group prefix = alkthiocarbonyl-  or   carbalkthio-
Esters
Functional group suffix = alkyl -oate (review
Functional group prefix = alkoxycarbonyl-  or   carbalkoxy-
Cyclic esters are called lactones
Carboxylic Acids
Functional group suffix = -oic acid (review
Functional group prefix = carboxy-
Amides
Functional group suffix = amide (review
Functional group prefix = carbamoyl-
Cyclic amides are called lactams
Nitriles
Functional group suffix = nitrile or -onitrile (review
Functional group prefix = cyano-

previous page
next page
organic chemistry © Dr. Ian Hunt, Department of Chemistry University of Calgary