Furan-2-ylmethanethiol (2-Furanmethanethiol) is an

organic compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. Th ...

containing a

furan Furan is a heterocyclic organic compound, consisting of a five-membered aromatic ring with four carbon atoms and one oxygen atom. Chemical compounds containing such rings are also referred to as furans. Furan is a colorless, flammable, highl ...

substituted with a sulfanylmethyl group. It is a clear colourless liquid when pure, but it becomes yellow coloured upon prolonged standing. It possesses a strong odour of roasted coffee and a bitter taste. It is a key component of the aroma of roasted coffee. It has been identified as a trigger molecule for parosmia following

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

infection.

Synthesis

Furan-2-ylmethanethiol is easily prepared by reacting

furfuryl alcohol Furfuryl alcohol is an organic compound containing a furan substituted with a hydroxymethyl group. It is a colorless liquid, but aged samples appear amber. It possesses a faint odor of burning and a bitter taste. It is miscible with but unstable ...

with

thiourea Thiourea () is an organosulfur compound with the formula and the structure . It is structurally similar to urea (), except that the oxygen atom is replaced by a sulfur atom (as implied by the ''thio-'' prefix); however, the properties of urea a ...

hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride. It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid. It is a component of the gastric acid in the dige ...

via an intermediate

isothiouronium In organic chemistry, isothiouronium is a functional group with the formula SC(NH2)2sup>+ (R = alkyl, aryl) and is the acid salt of isothiourea. The H centres can also be replaced by alkyl and aryl. Structurally, these cations resemble guanid ...

salt which is hydrolized to the

thiol In organic chemistry, a thiol (; ), or thiol derivative, is any organosulfur compound of the form , where R represents an alkyl or other organic substituent. The functional group itself is referred to as either a thiol group or a sulfhydryl gro ...

by heating with

sodium hydroxide Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaOH. It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations and hydroxide anions . Sodium hydroxide is a highly caustic base and al ...

References

{{Heterocyclic-stub Flavors Thiols 2-Furyl compounds