carbinol

Carbinol is a historical term in organic chemistry that has been used with several related meanings. In older literature, carbinol was often employed as a general name for alcohols—organic compounds that contain a hydroxyl group (-OH). In this sense, carbinol is largely synonymous with the modern term alcohol, though the usage is now rare outside historical discussion.

In other contexts, carbinol refers to the carbon atom that bears the hydroxyl group in an alcohol; this is sometimes called the carbinol carbon. This concept appears in stereochemical and reaction discussions, especially for secondary and tertiary alcohols where the carbinol carbon can influence stereochemistry and reactivity.

The term has also appeared in the naming of certain compounds described as carbinols or carbinol derivatives in older texts. These usages reflect historical naming practices and the evolution of systematic nomenclature. Today, IUPAC-preferred terminology classifies such substances as alcohols, with naming based on the -ol suffix and appropriate substituent descriptors.

Current practice generally excludes carbinol from standard modern chemical writing, reserving it for historical, pedagogical, or contextual discussions. When encountered, carbinol typically signals a connection to the hydroxyl-bearing carbon of an alcohol or to the alcohol group itself, rather than indicating a distinct functional class.

See also: Alcohol, Hydroxyl group, Carbinol carbon, Stereochemistry.