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I'm doing a research project on the fascinating chemiluminescent molecule luminol, and figured it would be a good idea to start breaking down the systematic name of the chemical and linking the terms to the structure. The systematic name of luminol is 5-amino-2,3-dihydrophthalazine-1,4-dione, and I get it all apart from the "dihydro" - any help? Thank you very much in advance! :)

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enter image description here

On the left is 5-amino-2,3-dihydrophthalazine-1,4-dione and on the right is the molecule which the name is based on, phthalazine. The 2,3-dihydro refers to the fact that at the 2 and 3 positions (the two nitrogens) hydrogens have been added (hydro is the prefix for hydrogen).

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  • $\begingroup$ Fantastic, thank you! I suspected this but didn't want to go ahead without checking. Also, for brownie points: is there a techincal name for the molecule that a molecule is based on - i.e. an OH group is called a functional group, so in the case of the luminol the phthalazine would be called its...? This word may not exist, just curious! $\endgroup$
    – user265902
    Commented Jan 25, 2015 at 19:47
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    $\begingroup$ @AndrewCatherall I think they are just called base names $\endgroup$
    – bon
    Commented Jan 25, 2015 at 19:51
  • $\begingroup$ @AndrewCatherall Late to the party on this one, but in my experience luminol would be said to be derived from a phthalazine core. $\endgroup$
    – hBy2Py
    Commented Feb 10, 2016 at 11:57

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