Naphtholactam is an

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 ...

derived from

naphthalene Naphthalene is an organic compound with formula . It is the simplest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and is a white Crystal, crystalline solid with a characteristic odor that is detectable at concentrations as low as 0.08 Parts-per notation ...

. It is a tricyclic species consisting of a naphthalene core fused with a

lactam A lactam is a Cyclic compound, cyclic amide, formally derived from an amino alkanoic acid through cyclization reactions. The term is a portmanteau of the words ''lactone'' + ''amide''. Nomenclature Greek_alphabet#Letters, Greek prefixes in alpha ...

(NH-CO-) at the 1,8-positions. The N-alkyl derivatives are commercially important.

Dye precursor

It is a precursor to the dye anthanthrone via ring-opening to the amino carboxylic acid, which can be converted to the

diazonium Diazonium compounds or diazonium salts are a group of organic compounds sharing a common functional group where R can be any organic group, such as an alkyl or an aryl, and X is an inorganic or organic anion, such as a halide. The parent, compou ...

salt. Naphthostyril derivatives are also of interest in medicinal chemistry. Naphthostyrils can be produced by metal-catalyzed cyclization of 1-naphthylamides. NaphtholactamDye

N-Ethylnaphtholactam and related derivatives are precursors to many dyes. The lactam condenses with

aniline Aniline (From , meaning ' indigo shrub', and ''-ine'' indicating a derived substance) is an organic compound with the formula . Consisting of a phenyl group () attached to an amino group (), aniline is the simplest aromatic amine. It is an in ...

s in the presence of

phosphorus oxychloride Phosphoryl chloride (commonly called phosphorus oxychloride) is a colourless liquid with the formula . It hydrolyses in moist air releasing phosphoric acid and fumes of hydrogen chloride. It is manufactured industrially on a large scale from phos ...

.{{Ullmann , doi=10.1002/14356007.a16_487.pub2, title=Methine Dyes and Pigments, year=2008, last1=Berneth, first1=Horst, isbn=978-3527306732

References

Naphthalenes Gamma-lactams Nitrogen heterocycles Heterocyclic compounds with 3 rings