2,2,4,4-Tetramethyl-3-t-butyl-pentane-3-ol

2,2,4,4-Tetramethyl-3-t-butyl-pentane-3-ol is an organic compound

Organic compound

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...

 with formula C₁₃H₂₈O, or ((H₃C-)₃C-)₃COH. It is an alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

 whose molecule can be viewed as a tridecane

Tridecane

Tridecane may refer to any alkane hydrocarbon with the chemical formula , or to a mixture of them. There are 802 constitutional isomers with that formula...

 isomer (2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-t-butyl-pentane) where the central hydrogen

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...

 has been replaced by a hydroxyl

Hydroxyl

A hydroxyl is a chemical group containing an oxygen atom covalently bonded with a hydrogen atom. In inorganic chemistry, the hydroxyl group is known as the hydroxide ion, and scientists and reference works generally use these different terms though they refer to the same chemical structure in...

 group -OH.

The bulky tert-butyl

Butyl

In organic chemistry, butyl is a four-carbon alkyl radical or substituent group with general chemical formula -C4H9, derived from either of the two isomers of butane....

 groups (H₃C-)₃C- groups attached to the central carbon prevent the hydroxyl group from forming the hydrogen bond

Hydrogen bond

A hydrogen bond is the attractive interaction of a hydrogen atom with an electronegative atom, such as nitrogen, oxygen or fluorine, that comes from another molecule or chemical group. The hydrogen must be covalently bonded to another electronegative atom to create the bond...

s that are characteristic of most alcohols. Indeed, as of 2003 this was the only known organic compound with that property, which made it interesting for research in spectroscopy

Spectroscopy

Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...

.