The functional group of an alcohol is a hydroxyl, or -OH group. The ability to complex heavy metals is useful for treating people with heavy-metal poisoning from Mercury or Arsenic. Thiols also have a characteristically strong odor associated with them. For example, thiols are responsible for skunk scent and garlic scent. Thiols are named like alcohols with a thiol suffix.
Common names use the alkyl group with the word mercaptan attached.
Both Oxygen and Sulfur are in the same family, and consequently, thiols can be expected to behave very much like alcohols. The following briefly describes structure affects the boiling points of each. This is not to say alkanes do not experience any intermolecular attractions. Because electrons in atoms are constantly moving, the electrons of a molecule could become temporarily unevenly distributed, causing the molecule to experience a temporary dipole. These temporary interactions are called van der Waals interactions, which are nonbonding intermolecular forces.