Acetophenone (C6H5COCH3 ), an organic compound used as an ingredient in perfumes and as a chemical intermediate in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, resins, flavouring agents, and a form of tear gas. Acetophenone is the organic compound with the formula C6H5C(O)CH3. It is the simplest aromatic ketone. It is a colourless or yellow-tinted liquid with a sweet, strong odour. Acetophenone is the simplest aromatic ketone and a byproduct of the cumene process. It is used to make resins, fragrances, drugs, and is a test substrate for asymmetric hydrogenation. Acetophenone is an aromatic ketone found naturally in fruits, berries, nuts, and meat. Charles Friedel is credited with the first synthetic preparation of acetophenone by the distillation of a mixture of calcium benzoate and calcium acetate in 1857.
