Acetanisole is an

aromatic In organic chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property describing the way in which a conjugated system, conjugated ring of unsaturated bonds, lone pairs, or empty orbitals exhibits a stabilization stronger than would be expected from conjugati ...

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 ...

with an aroma described as sweet, fruity, nutty, and similar to vanilla. In addition acetanisole can sometimes smell like butter or caramel. Its chemical names are based on considering the structure as either an

acetyl In organic chemistry, an acetyl group is a functional group denoted by the chemical formula and the structure . It is sometimes represented by the symbol Ac (not to be confused with the element actinium). In IUPAC nomenclature, an acetyl grou ...

( methyl-

ketone In organic chemistry, a ketone is an organic compound with the structure , where R and R' can be a variety of carbon-containing substituents. Ketones contain a carbonyl group (a carbon-oxygen double bond C=O). The simplest ketone is acetone ( ...

) analog of anisole. Other names It can also be seen as a methyl ether analog of acetophenone. Acetanisole is found naturally in

castoreum Castoreum is a yellowish exudate from the castor sacs of mature beavers used in combination with urine to territorial marking, scent mark their territory. Both beaver sexes have a pair of castor sacs and a pair of anal glands, located in two c ...

, the glandular secretion of the

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

Preparation

Acetanisole can be prepared synthetically by Friedel-Crafts acylation of anisole with acetyl chloride: : Acetanisol Synthesis

Application

It is used as a cigarette additive, a fragrance, and a flavoring in

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

Reactions

4-Methoxyacetophenone is a standard substrate or product of much research, such as transfer hydrogenation and directed arylations.

References

{{reflist Food additives Piceol ethers Sweet-smelling chemicals