Chlorocresols
The chlorocresols (also chloromethylphenols ) form a group of substances that is derived from phenol (hydroxybenzene), toluene (methylbenzene) and chlorobenzene . The structure consists of a benzene ring with attached hydroxyl group (-OH), methyl group (-CH 3 ) and chlorine (-Cl) as substituents . Their different arrangement results in ten constitutional isomers with the empirical formula C 7 H 7 ClO.
If one starts out from the disubstituted parent compounds, one can regard the chlorocresols as hydroxy derivatives of chlorotoluenes , as methyl derivatives of chlorophenols or as chlorine derivatives of cresols . The naming followed the last variant because the cresols are the only ones of the three disubstituted parent compounds that form a completely separate name.
The best-known isomer is 4-chloro-3-methylphenol , which is often referred to only as chlorocresol .
