Organic Chemistry
In organic chemistry, amyl is the old trivial name for the alkyl substituent and radical called pentyl under the IUPAC nomenclature: that is, -C5H11. This usage may derive from the presence of amyl alcohol in fusel oil, which is often fermented from starches. In this usage, amyl (normally) remains a separate word and it does not become "amylo-" before a consonant.
Several important amyl/pentyl compounds are still widely known by their older, amyl names, including:
- Amylamine
- Amyl acetate
- Amyl alcohol
- Amyl nitrate
- Amyl nitrite
There are eight possible isomers of amyl; see under pentyl for more information. Frequently chemicals sold commercially as amyl compounds will be a mixture of several isomers.
Read more about this topic: Amyl
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