Hydroxymethyl in the field of chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

, particularly in organic chemistry

Organic chemistry

Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...

, is the name for a substituent

Substituent

In organic chemistry and biochemistry, a substituent is an atom or group of atoms substituted in place of a hydrogen atom on the parent chain of a hydrocarbon...

 with the structural formula

Structural formula

The structural formula of a chemical compound is a graphical representation of the molecular structure, showing how the atoms are arranged. The chemical bonding within the molecule is also shown, either explicitly or implicitly...

 -CH₂-OH. The hydroxymethyl group consists of a methylene

Methylene

Methylene is a chemical species in which a carbon atom is bonded to two hydrogen atoms. Three different possibilities present themselves:* the -CH2- substituent group: e.g., dichloromethane ....

 (-CH₂-) group connected to a hydroxy

Hydroxyl

A hydroxyl is a chemical group containing an oxygen atom covalently bonded with a hydrogen atom. In inorganic chemistry, the hydroxyl group is known as the hydroxide ion, and scientists and reference works generally use these different terms though they refer to the same chemical structure in...

 (-OH) group. This makes the hydroxymethyl group an alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

. The hydroxymethyl group structurally resembles the methoxy

Methoxy

In chemistry , methoxy refers to the functional group consisting of a methyl group bound to oxygen. This alkoxy group has the formula O–CH3.The word is used in organic nomenclature usually to describe an ether...

 group (-O-CH₃) that differs only in the attachment site and orientation to the rest of the molecule. However, their chemical properties are different.