What functional groups are present in acetaminophen?

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Answer 1 · 2014-08-16T22:34:54

The functional groups in acetaminophen are hydroxyl, aromatic ring, and amide.

A functional group is a specific group of atoms within a molecule that gives rise to the characteristic chemical reactions of the molecule.

The structure of acetaminophen is

acetaminophen structure from DailyMed

The group at the top of the molecule is a hydroxyl group. It is tempting to call it an alcohol group.

But an #"–OH"# group attached to a benzene ring has special properties. It is more commonly called a phenol group or a phenolic #"OH"#.

The six-membered ring is an aromatic ring.

The group at the bottom of the molecule is a monosubstituted or secondary amide.

The general formula for an amide is #"RCONR"_2#. In this case, one of the #"R"# groups on the #"N"# atom is a hydrogen atom.