Methoxy group
Methoxy group |
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Different spellings of the blue- marked methoxy group. R = organyl residue. |
Examples of molecules having a blue -labeled methoxy group, above, from left to right of methanol and tert -butyl methyl ether , below methyl acetate ( methyl acetate ) and a Methoxylat anion. |
The methoxy group is one of the simplest atomic arrangements in organic chemistry, adding a heteroatom (oxygen) to a methyl group .
The formula of the substituent is –OCH 3 , sometimes also written as –OMe .
The methoxy group is not an independent chemical substance, but always part of a larger molecule (see illustration). The smallest molecule with this group is methanol , but it is considered an alcohol with a hydroxy group .
properties
Replacing a hydrogen atom in an alkane with a methoxy group increases polarity and reactivity. For example, ethers are split into alcohols with aqueous acids and higher temperatures.
A methoxy group as the first substituent has a moderately activating and ortho (next to) or para (opposite) directing effect in electrophilic aromatic substitution ( + M effect ).
literature
- Organikum, 16th edition, VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-326-00076-6 .