Thiol

Thiol with a   blue highlighted sulfhydryl group.

In organic chemistry, a thiol (/ˈθɒl/;[1] from Ancient Greek θεῖον (theion) 'sulfur'[2]), or thiol derivative, is any organosulfur compound of the form R−SH, where R represents an alkyl or other organic substituent. The −SH functional group itself is referred to as either a thiol group or a sulfhydryl group, or a sulfanyl group. Thiols are the sulfur analogue of alcohols (that is, sulfur takes the place of oxygen in the hydroxyl (−OH) group of an alcohol), and the word is a blend of "thio-" with "alcohol".

Many thiols have strong odors resembling that of garlic or rotten eggs. Thiols are used as odorants to assist in the detection of natural gas (which in pure form is odorless), and the "smell of natural gas" is due to the smell of the thiol used as the odorant. Thiols are sometimes referred to as mercaptans (/mərˈkæptæn/)[3] or mercapto compounds,[4][5][6] a term introduced in 1832 by William Christopher Zeise and is derived from the Latin mercurio captāns ('capturing mercury')[7] because the thiolate group (RS) bonds very strongly with mercury compounds.[8]

  1. ^ Dictionary Reference: thiol Archived 2013-04-11 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ θεῖον Archived 2017-05-10 at the Wayback Machine, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek–English Lexicon
  3. ^ Dictionary Reference: mercaptan Archived 2012-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Patai, Saul, ed. (1974). The Chemistry of the Thiol Group. Part 1. London: Wiley. doi:10.1002/9780470771310. ISBN 9780470771310.
  5. ^ Patai, Saul, ed. (1974). The Chemistry of the Thiol Group. Part 2. London: Wiley. doi:10.1002/9780470771327. ISBN 9780470771327.
  6. ^ R. J. Cremlyn (1996). An Introduction to Organosulfur Chemistry. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-95512-2.
  7. ^ Oxford American Dictionaries (Mac OS X Leopard).
  8. ^ See: