Geminal diol
A geminal diol (or gem-diol for short) is any organic compound having two hydroxyl functional groups (−OH) bound to the same carbon atom. Geminal diols are a subclass of the diols, which in turn are a special class of alcohols. Most of the geminal diols are considered unstable.
The simplest geminal diol is methanediol CH4O2 or H2C(OH)2. Other examples are:
- dihydroxymalinic acid (HOOC)2C(OH)2
- decahydroxycyclopentane (C(OH)2)5
- chloral hydrate (Cl3C)HC(OH)2