Amides have the R-CO(NR’R”) grouping. There are three types of amides (primary, secondary and tertiary) (recommendation C-821.1).
The most common are monoacylamides, which are named after the hydrocarbon with the same number of carbons followed by the –amide termination. If the nitrogen atom is attached to an alkyl group, the name of the radical is preceded by N (recommendations C-823 and C-824). Another possibility is to name them as acid derivatives with a common name ending in amide.
When group –CONH2 acts as a substituent, the prefix carbamoyl is used. If on the other hand RCONH- is the main group, it is named by changing the suffix –amide to carboxamide.
Return to the page naming mono-functional compounds.
