2-Pentanol (
IUPAC
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is ...
name: pentan-2-ol; also called ''sec''-amyl alcohol) is an
organic
Organic may refer to:
* Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity
* Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ
Chemistry
* Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...
chemical compound
A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...
. It is used as a
solvent
A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...
and an intermediate in the manufacturing of other chemicals. 2-Pentanol is a component of many mixtures of
amyl alcohol
An amyl alcohol is any of eight alcohols with the formula C5H12O. A mixture of amyl alcohols (also called amyl alcohol) can be obtained from fusel alcohol. Amyl alcohol is used as a solvent and in esterification, by which is produced amyl acetate ...
s sold industrially. 2-Pentanol is
chiral
Chirality is a property of asymmetry important in several branches of science. The word ''chirality'' is derived from the Greek (''kheir''), "hand", a familiar chiral object.
An object or a system is ''chiral'' if it is distinguishable from i ...
and thus can be obtained as either of two
stereoisomers
In stereochemistry, stereoisomerism, or spatial isomerism, is a form of isomerism in which molecules have the same molecular formula and sequence of bonded atoms (constitution), but differ in the three-dimensional orientations of their atoms ...
designated as (R)-(−)-2-pentanol and (S)-(+)-2-pentanol.
2-Pentanol has been detected in fresh
bananas
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
by
gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is an analytical method that combines the features of gas-chromatography and mass spectrometry to identify different substances within a test sample. Applications of GC-MS include drug detection, ...
, at an abundance of 14.26±2.63 ppm.
[
]
Reactions
2-Pentanol can be manufactured by
hydration Hydration may refer to:
* Hydrate, a substance that contains water
* Hydration enthalpy, energy released through hydrating a substance
* Hydration reaction, a chemical addition reaction where a hydroxyl group and proton are added to a compound
* ...
of
pentene
Pentenes are alkenes with the chemical formula . Each contains one double bond within its molecular structure. Six different compounds are in this class, differing from each other by whether the carbon atoms are attached linearly or in a branched ...
.
[
]
See also
*
''sec''-Amyl acetate
*
3-Pentanol
References
Alcohol solvents
Alkanols
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