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+ Alcohols
+ Chemistry
+ Nomenclature
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Ozair Khan

IUPAC naming of quinol and hydroquinone

Bholu Friend  Follow

Pay attention to the prefix "hydro-", it can definitely change the meaning of the name.

Quinone is the common name given to cyclohexa-2,5-diene-1,4-dione:

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However, hydroquinone is not a ketone. Hydroquinone is basically hydrogen added to ketone. As a result, it's not a ketone, but rather it's a phenol.

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I must agree, the naming does cause confusion, as this isn't the systematic nomenclature. The common nomenclature doesn't follow any strict rules, and are often named after the compound they were formed from (such as this case). Don't rely on such names too much.

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Jason Hall  Follow
So a hyrdro-(ketone) is always an alcohol?More
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Glen McMillian  Follow
In a way, yes, alcohols are formed by adding $\ce{H2}$ to a ketone.More
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Dalton Mendeleve  Follow

First of all, the functional groups are not alcohols. They are OH (pronounced oh--aitch) or hydroxyl groups. A 2-electron oxidation of hydroquinone gives quinone, a "ketone". A 2-electron reduction gives back HYDROquinone. Therefore, benzene-1,2,4-triol is hydroxyquinol (there is only one position on quinol for the additional OH). No number required. Phenols may look like alcohols; they are not.

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