Acetyl group

Not to be confused with Acetal.
Acetyl group
Skeletal formula of acetyl with all implicit hydrogens shown
Names
IUPAC name
Acetyl (preferred to ethanoyl)[1][2][3]
Systematic IUPAC name
Methyloxidocarbon(•)[4] (additive)
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
Abbreviations Ac
1697938
ChEBI
ChemSpider
786
  • InChI=1S/C2H3O/c1-2-3/h1H3 checkY
    Key: TUCNEACPLKLKNU-UHFFFAOYSA-N checkY
  • C[C]=O
Properties
C2H3O
Molar mass 43.045 g·mol−1
Thermochemistry
−15 to −9 kJ mol−1
Related compounds
Related compounds
 Acetone
Carbon monoxide
Acetic acid
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
☒N verify (what is checkY☒N ?)

In organic chemistry, an acetyl group is a functional group denoted by the chemical formula −COCH3 and the structure −C(=O)−CH3. It is sometimes represented by the symbol Ac[5][6] (not to be confused with the element actinium). In IUPAC nomenclature, an acetyl group is called an ethanoyl group.

An acetyl group contains a methyl group (−CH3) that is single-bonded to a carbonyl (C=O), making it an acyl group. The carbonyl center of an acyl radical has one non-bonded electron with which it forms a chemical bond to the remainder (denoted with the letter R) of the molecule.

The acetyl moiety is a component of many organic compounds, including acetic acid, the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, acetyl-CoA, acetylcysteine, acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol), and acetylsalicylic acid (also known as aspirin).

  1. ^ "List of Radical Names Beginning from "A"". Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry, Sections A, B, C, D, E, F, and H, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1979. Copyright 1979 IUPAC.
  2. ^ "R-5.7.1 Carboxylic acids, where acetyl appears as an example". IUPAC, Commission on Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry. A Guide to IUPAC Nomenclature of Organic Compounds (Recommendations 1993), 1993, Blackwell Scientific publications, Copyright 1993 IUPAC.
  3. ^ IUPAC Chemical Nomenclature and Structure Representation Division (2013). "P-65.1.7.2.1". In Favre, Henri A.; Powell, Warren H. (eds.). Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry: IUPAC Recommendations and Preferred Names 2013. IUPAC–RSC. ISBN 978-0-85404-182-4.
  4. ^ "Acetyl". Chemical Entities of Biological Interest. UK: European Bioinformatics Institute.
  5. ^ Banik, Gregory M.; Baysinger, Grace; Kamat, Prashant V.; Pienta, Norbert, eds. (January 2020). The ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society. doi:10.1021/acsguide.50308. ISBN 978-0-8412-3586-1. S2CID 262269861.
  6. ^ Hanson, James A. (2001). Functional group chemistry. Cambridge, Eng: Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 11. ISBN 0-85404-627-5.