An amyl alcohol is any of eight

alcohols In chemistry, an alcohol is a type of organic compound that carries at least one hydroxyl () functional group bound to a saturated carbon atom. The term ''alcohol'' originally referred to the primary alcohol ethanol (ethyl alcohol), which is ...

with the formula C₅H₁₂O. A mixture of

amyl Amyl may refer to: * Amylum or starch, a carbohydrate ** Amylopectin, a polymer of glucose found in plants; one of two components of starch ** Amylose, a helical polymer made of α-D-glucose units; one of two components of starch * Pentyl, a five- ...

alcohols (also called amyl alcohol) can be obtained from

fusel alcohol Fusel alcohols or fuselol, also sometimes called fusel oils in Europe, are mixtures of several higher alcohols (those with more than two carbons, chiefly amyl alcohol) produced as a by-product of alcoholic fermentation. The word ''Fusel'' is Ger ...

. Amyl alcohol is used as a solvent and in

esterification In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides ar ...

, by which is produced

amyl acetate Amyl acetate (pentyl acetate) is an organic compound and an ester with the chemical formula CH3COO H2sub>4CH3 and the molecular weight 130.19g/mol. It is colorless and has a scent similar to bananas and apples. The compound is the condensation pr ...

and other important products. The name ''amyl alcohol'' without further specification applies to the normal (straight-chain) form,

1-pentanol 1-Pentanol, (or ''n''-pentanol, pentan-1-ol), is an alcohol with five carbon atoms and the molecular formula C5H11OH.CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 65Th Ed. 1-Pentanol is a colourless liquid with a distinctive aroma. It is the straight-ch ...

. These are the 8 alcohols that are

structural isomer In chemistry, a structural isomer (or constitutional isomer in the IUPAC nomenclature) of a chemical compound, compound is another compound whose molecule has the same number of atoms of each element, but with logically distinct chemical bond, b ...

s with

molecular formula In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, ...

C₅H₁₂O: : Three of these alcohols, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 2-pentanol, and 3-methyl-2-butanol (methyl isopropyl carbinol), are therefore optically active. The most important amyl alcohol is

isoamyl alcohol Isoamyl alcohol is a colorless liquid with the formula , specifically (H3C–)2CH–CH2–CH2–OH. It is one of several isomers of amyl alcohol (pentanol). It is also known as isopentyl alcohol, isopentanol, or (in the IUPAC recommended nomencla ...

, the chief one generated by fermentation in the production of alcoholic beverages and a constituent of

fusel oil Fusel alcohols or fuselol, also sometimes called fusel oils in Europe, are mixtures of several higher alcohols (those with more than two carbons, chiefly amyl alcohol) produced as a by-product of alcoholic fermentation. The word ''Fusel'' is Ge ...

. The other amyl alcohols may be obtained synthetically.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amyl Alcohol Alkanols GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulators