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Glite Dictionary
hydroxymethyl

hydroxymethyl

9.5
A small part of a molecule with an oxygen and hydrogen attached to one carbon
  • noun
  • /haɪˌdrɒksɪˈmɛθəl/
  • Specialized
: hidroximetilo
  • The chemist synthesized a new compound containing the hydroxymethyl group.

So we've gone hydroxymethyl, the aldehyde, the acid.

Examples

  • The presence of a hydroxymethyl group can significantly affect the properties of a molecule.

  • In organic chemistry, a hydroxymethyl radical plays an essential role in various reactions.

  • So we've gone hydroxymethyl, the aldehyde, the acid.

    MIT OpenCourseWare

Surface Forms

hydroxymethyl singular
hydroxymethyls plural

Morphology

hydroxymethyl = methyl (transparent) = hydroxy + methyl

The term is a direct chemical combination: hydroxy- (–OH) + methyl (CH3) yields the –CH2OH group, so the structure and meaning are compositional.

Etymology

Hydroxymethyl comes from hydroxy ('water') and methyl ('one-carbon unit'). So a hydroxymethyl group is a methyl part that has a hydroxy, written –CH2OH, which is why it changes how a molecule behaves.