Alkoholide

Alkoholide is a term that does not have a formal, widely accepted definition in modern chemistry. In some older or non-English texts, alkoholide is used informally to describe compounds that bear both an alcohol functional group (-OH) and an aldehyde functional group (-CHO) within the same molecule. In current standard nomenclature these substances are usually described as hydroxyaldehydes or as derivatives of aldoses if multiple hydroxyl groups are present.

Simple examples include glycolaldehyde, HO-CH2-CHO, the simplest hydroxyaldehyde. More complex hydroxyaldehydes appear in carbohydrate chemistry, such as glyceraldehyde (HO-CH2-CH(OH)-CHO) and other aldoses, which can interconvert with cyclic hemiacetals in solution. The coexistence of these two functionalities gives rise to characteristic reactivity: the aldehyde can undergo nucleophilic addition, oxidation, or participate in aldol-type condensations, while the alcohol group offers opportunities for esterification and further functionalization. In many cases, intramolecular reaction between the OH and the aldehyde leads to hemiacetal or acetal formations, particularly under acidic conditions.

Because alkoholide is not a formal term, chemical communication usually relies on more precise descriptors such as hydroxyaldehyde, hemiacetal, or acetal, depending on structure and context. The term may still appear in historical literature or in educational contexts as a heuristic label for molecules carrying both a hydroxyl and an aldehyde group.