1-Aminoethanol is an

organic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...

with the formula CHCH(NH)OH. It is classified as an

alkanolamine In organic chemistry, alkanolamines (amino alcohols) are organic compounds that contain both hydroxyl () and amino (, , and ) functional groups on an alkane backbone. Alkanolamine's bifunctionality and physicochemical characteristics lead to its u ...

. Specifically, it is a structural isomer of 2-aminoethanol (ethanolamine). These two compounds differ in the position of the amino group. Since the central carbon atom in 1-aminoethanol has four different substituents, the compound has two

stereoisomers In stereochemistry, stereoisomerism, or spatial isomerism, is a form of isomerism in which molecules have the same molecular formula and sequence of bonded atoms (constitution), but differ in the three-dimensional orientations of their atoms i ...

. Unlike 2-aminoethanol, which is of considerable importance in commerce, 1-aminoethanol is not encountered as a pure material and is mainly of theoretical interest. 1-Aminoethanol exists in a solution of acetaldehyde and aqueous ammonia. 1-Aminoethanol is suggested as intermediate in

Strecker reaction Strecker is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolph Strecker (1822–1871), German chemist who worked with amino acids * Herman Strecker (1836–1901), American entomologist specialising in butterflies and moths * Heinri ...

alanine Alanine (symbol Ala or A), or α-alanine, is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an amine group and a carboxylic acid group, both attached to the central carbon atom which also carries a methyl group sid ...

synthesis. 1-Aminoethanol was first prepared in 1833 by the German chemist

Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner (13 December 1780 – 24 March 1849) was a German chemist who is known best for work that was suggestive of the periodic law for the chemical elements, and for inventing the first lighter, which was known as the Dö ...

; its empirical formula was first determined by the German chemist

Justus von Liebig Justus ''Freiherr'' von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 18 April 1873) was a Germans, German scientist who made major contributions to the theory, practice, and pedagogy of chemistry, as well as to agricultural and biology, biological chemistry; he is ...

in 1835. The structure of 1-aminoethanol remained unproven until 1877, when the German-Italian chemist Robert Schiff showed that the structure was CHCH(OH)NH.Although it had long been assumed that the structure of 1-aminoethanol was CHCH(OH)NH, it had not been proven that 1-aminoethanol contained a hydroxyl (-OH) group until Schiff's investigation in 1877. See: * Schiff, Robert (1877
"Zur Constitution des Chloralammoniaks und des Aldehydammoniaks,"
''Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft'', 10 : 165–171. * Aschan, Ossian (1915
"Neues über Aldehyd-ammoniak und Chloral-ammoniak."
''Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft'', 48 (1) : 874–891.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aminoethanol, 1- Primary alcohols Amines Substances discovered in the 19th century Amino alcohols