
In
organic chemistry, an aryl is any
functional group or
substituent
A substituent is one or a group of atoms that replaces (one or more) atoms, thereby becoming a moiety in the resultant (new) molecule. (In organic chemistry and biochemistry, the terms ''substituent'' and ''functional group'', as well as ''side ...
derived from an
aromatic ring, usually an
aromatic hydrocarbon, such as
phenyl and
naphthyl
Naphthalene is an organic compound with formula . It is the simplest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and is a white crystalline solid with a characteristic odor that is detectable at concentrations as low as 0.08 ppm by mass. As an aromati ...
. "Aryl" is used for the sake of abbreviation or generalization, and "Ar" is used as a placeholder for the aryl group in chemical structure diagrams, analogous to βRβ used for any organic substituent. βArβ is not to be confused with the elemental symbol for
argon.
A simple aryl group is
phenyl (), a group derived from
benzene. Examples of other aryl groups consist of:
* The
tolyl group () which is derived from
toluene (methylbenzene)
* The
xylyl
In organic chemistry, xylene or xylol (; IUPAC name: dimethylbenzene) are any of three organic compounds with the formula . They are derived from the substitution of two hydrogen atoms with methyl groups in a benzene ring; which hydrogens are sub ...
group (), which is derived from
xylene (dimethylbenzene)
* The
naphthyl
Naphthalene is an organic compound with formula . It is the simplest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and is a white crystalline solid with a characteristic odor that is detectable at concentrations as low as 0.08 ppm by mass. As an aromati ...
group (), which is derived from
naphthalene
Naphthalene is an organic compound with formula . It is the simplest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and is a white crystalline solid with a characteristic odor that is detectable at concentrations as low as 0.08 ppm by mass. As an aromati ...
Arylation is the process in which an aryl group is attached to a substituent. It is typically achieved by
cross-coupling reactions.
Nomenclature
The most basic aryl group is
phenyl, which is made up of a benzene ring with one hydrogen atom substituted for some substituent, and has the molecular formula C
6H
5−. Note that a phenyl group is not the same as a
benzyl group
In organic chemistry, benzyl is the substituent or molecular fragment possessing the structure . Benzyl features a benzene ring () attached to a methylene group () group.
Nomenclature
In IUPAC nomenclature, the prefix benzyl refers to a subst ...
, the latter consisting of a phenyl group attached to a methyl group and a molecular formula of C
6H
5CH
2−.

To name compounds containing phenyl groups, the phenyl group can be taken to be the parent hydrocarbon and be represented by the suffix Alternatively, the phenyl group could be treated as the substituent, being described within the name as "phenyl". This is usually done when the group attached to the phenyl group consists of six or more carbon atoms.
As an example, consider a hydroxyl group connected to a phenyl group. In this case, if the phenyl group were taken to be the parent hydrocarbon, the compound would be named hydroxybenzene. Alternatively, and more commonly, the hydroxyl group could be taken as the parent group and the phenyl group treated as the substituent, resulting in the more familiar name
phenol.
Reactions
See also
*
Alkyl
*
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor, a bodily target for
dioxin
Dioxin may refer to:
* 1,2-Dioxin or 1,4-Dioxin, two unsaturated heterocyclic 6-membered rings where two carbon atoms have been replaced by oxygen atoms, giving the molecular formula C4H4O2
*Dibenzo-1,4-dioxin, the parent compound also known as ...
s
*
Aryloxy group
*
Arene compound
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
*
Substituents