Benzoylacetone is the

organic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...

with the nominal formula C₆H₅C(O)CH₂C(O)CH₃. As a 1,3-

dicarbonyl In organic chemistry, a dicarbonyl is a molecule containing two carbonyl () groups. Although this term could refer to any organic compound containing two carbonyl groups, it is used more specifically to describe molecules in which both carbonyls ...

, it is a precursor to many heterocycles, such as

pyrazole Pyrazole is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula . It is a heterocycle characterized as an azole with a 5-membered ring of three carbon atoms and two adjacent nitrogen atoms, which are in Arene substitution pattern, ortho-substi ...

s. It exists predominantly as the

enol In organic chemistry, enols are a type of functional group or intermediate in organic chemistry containing a group with the formula (R = many substituents). The term ''enol'' is an abbreviation of ''alkenol'', a portmanteau deriving from "-ene ...

tautomer C₆H₅C(OH)=CHC(O)CH₃. Its conjugate base (pK_a=8.7) forms stable complexes with transition metals and lanthanides.{{cite journal , doi=10.1002/(SICI)1521-4095(199911)11:16<1349::AID-ADMA1349>3.0.CO;2-W, title=Narrow Bandwidth Luminescence from Blends with Energy Transfer from Semiconducting Conjugated Polymers to Europium Complexes, year=1999, last1=McGehee, first1=M. D., last2=Bergstedt, first2=T., last3=Zhang, first3=C., last4=Saab, first4=A. P., last5=o'Regan, first5=M. B., last6=Bazan, first6=G. C., last7=Srdanov, first7=V. I., last8=Heeger, first8=A. J., journal=Advanced Materials, volume=11, issue=16, pages=1349–1354

References

Aromatic ketones Chelating agents Ligands Phenyl compounds